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The prevalence of clinically significant anaemia and haemoglobinopathy in children requiring dental treatment under general anaesthesia: a retrospective study of 1000 patients
Author(s) -
MASON C.,
PORTER S. R.,
MEE A.,
CARR C.,
McEWAN T.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
international journal of paediatric dentistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.183
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1365-263X
pISSN - 0960-7439
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-263x.1995.tb00300.x
Subject(s) - medicine , general anaesthesia , pediatrics , retrospective cohort study , sickle cell trait , anesthesia , surgery , disease
Summary. There is little information on the possible value of screening children who are liable to haemoglobinopathies as part of pre‐operative assessment for dental treatment under general anaesthesia. The present retrospective investigation examined, first, the number of patients having low haemoglobin levels among 1000 patients who had undergone haematological investigation prior to general anaesthesia in a dental outpatient unit, and, secondly, the subsequent clinical management of these patients. Haemoglobin levels of 10.0 g/dl or less were found in 31 children: 13 Asian, 7 Afro‐Caribbean, 5 Mediterranean, 3 Arabic, I white Caucasian and 2 Oriental children. In addition, 17 patients had sickle‐cell trait and 2 had β‐thalassaemia trait, but there was no relationship between the presence of haemoglobinopathy and low levels of haemoglobin. The planned general anaesthesia was undertaken for 22 of the 31 children who had low levels of haemoglobin and for the 19 children with haemoglobinopathy. Only 6 children ultimately did not undergo general anaesthesia, all failing to return. It is concluded that pre‐anaesthetic haematological assessment of children needing minor dental surgery is rarely of any significant clinical value.