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LETTER TO THE EDITOR |
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Year : 2016 | Volume
: 9
| Issue : 6 | Page : 771 |
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Megaloblastic anemia: Clinical spectrum and hematological profile
Anirban Mandal1, Puneet Kaur Sahi2
1 Department of Paediatrics, Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research, New Delhi, India 2 Department of Pediatrics, Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital, New Delhi, India
Date of Web Publication | 16-Nov-2016 |
Correspondence Address: Anirban Mandal Department of Paediatrics, Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research, B-16, Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi - 110 016 India
Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0975-2870.194231
How to cite this article: Mandal A, Sahi PK. Megaloblastic anemia: Clinical spectrum and hematological profile. Med J DY Patil Univ 2016;9:771 |
Sir,
We read with great interest the original article by Srikanth [1] in the latest issue of your journal. At first, we would like to commend the author for his endeavor but at the same time feel that a few clarifications are required and also would like to make the following comments which would benefit the general readers of this journal:
- In the aims and objectives, it is stated that the study is conducted "To know the various parameters and diagnostic approach of megaloblastic anemia," but it does not give any diagnostic approach undertaken for the diagnosis of the megaloblastic anemia
- The abstract mentions the study to be "retrospective and prospective," but in the materials and methods, it is stated to be a "retrospective analysis of case records" only
- The author fails to mention whether informed written consent was obtained from the patients' legal guardians for participation in the study (if it was retrospective and prospective) and also about obtaining ethical clearance from the Institutional/University Ethics Committee
- The author mentions that "multivariate analysis was performed to determine the correlation between symptoms, signs, and hematological investigations," but no such analysis is provided in the results
- The author does not mention the cut offs taken to define anemia, and it's different severity, as they vary according to age in the studied age group [2]
- The diagnostic criteria used for diagnosis of megaloblastic anemia is also not mentioned, especially when bone marrow examination was not done in all patients and even. Macrocytosis was present in only 81% of patients
- The author describes about rate of resolution of anemia and the mean time taken for the same in follow-up patients, but he does not provide: the cause of megaloblastic anemia in these patients (Vitamin B12 being done in eight patients only, whether other investigations such as folate assay were done or not), the treatment received (drugs, dose, duration), follow-up (frequency, duration, repeat hematological investigation frequency)
- The discussion also features only theoretical aspects of megaloblastic anemia. Rather it would have been useful if the author discussed the findings of this study in the context of the existing knowledge and highlighted what this study added to the available literature.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
References | | |
1. | Srikanth S. Megaloblastic anemia - A clinical spectrum and a hematological profile: The day-to-day public health problem. Med J DY Patil Univ 2016;9:307-10. |
2. | World Health Organization. Haemoglobin levels to diagnose anaemia at sea level. In: Haemoglobin Concentrations for the Diagnosis of Anaemia and Assessment of Severity. Geneva: WHO; 2001. p. 3. |
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