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. 2022 Sep 15;11(18):5426.
doi: 10.3390/jcm11185426.

First and Second Level Haemoglobinopathies Diagnosis: Best Practices of the Italian Society of Thalassemia and Haemoglobinopathies (SITE)

Giorgia Mandrile  1 , Susanna Barella  2 , Antonino Giambona  3 , Antonia Gigante  4 , Michela Grosso  5 , Silverio Perrotta  6 , Saverio Scianguetta  6 , Gian Luca Forni  7
Affiliations

First and Second Level Haemoglobinopathies Diagnosis: Best Practices of the Italian Society of Thalassemia and Haemoglobinopathies (SITE)

Giorgia Mandrile et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

The purpose of this best practice paper is to review the current recommendations for the identification and prenatal diagnosis of hemoglobinopathies.

Methods: The management committee of SITE selected and gathered a multidisciplinary team in order to formulate recommendations based on the available scientific evidence integrated with the opinions of experts, with the purpose of supporting clinicians.

Results: We provide recommendations for first level tests (complete blood count, hemoglobin separation and iron balance), second level tests (molecular diagnosis) and prenatal diagnosis. Five Italian experts in hemoglobinopathies were consulted regarding the orientation of prenatal diagnosis, and for each indication, the degree of agreement among the experts has been specified.

Conclusions: Best practice recommendations are the final outcome of this translational research and allow transfer to daily clinical practice.

Keywords: Thalassemia; diagnostics of hemoglobinopathies; hemoglobinopathies; prenatal diagnosis; sickle cell disease.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Percentile curves of hemoglobin (Hb) values and mean corpuscular value (MCV) in females (A) and males (B) in the first 15 years of life (from [16]).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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