Objective: This study was conducted to estimate prevalence of direct antiglobulin test (DAT) positivity and its impact on transfusion support in patients with thalassemia.
Methods: The DAT testing was performed for patients with β-thalassemia who received transfusion from November 2021 to March 2022. Elution was done for DAT-positive samples.
Results: Of 180 patients, 21 (11.6%) were DAT positive. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) was present in 4 (19%) and IgG+C3d was present in 8 (38%). Only complement was present in 9 (42.8%) patients. The IgG-reactive DATs were associated with pan-reactive eluate. Patients who were DAT-positive had significantly higher levels of serum bilirubin, ferritin, and IgG than those who were DAT-negative.
Conclusion: Autoantibody formation in multiply transfused thalassemia patients is common and merits equal attention as alloimmunization. It is particularly important as DAT-positive red blood cells may undergo clinically significant hemolysis, which may increase the transfusion requirements with associated sequalae such as increased serum ferritin and splenomegaly.
Keywords: DAT; IgG; auto antibody; ether elution; hepatitis C; serum ferritin; splenectomy; β thalassemia.
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