Hemoglobinopathy Prevention in “28 de Septiembre” Outpatient Polyclinic, of Santiago de Cuba Municipality

Abstract

Introduction: Sickle cell anemia is a functional defect that affects hemoglobin. It is of a hereditary nature and highly frequent among the Cuban population.

Objective: To characterize the hemoglobinopathies prevention program in “28 de Septiembre” outpatient Polyclinic, of Santiago de Cuba Municipality.

Methods: A descriptive, retrospective and longitudinal study was carried out, during the period from January 2011 to December 2020, with 6055 pregnant women, studied by hemoglobin electrophoresis or whose condition was previously known. The hemoglobin variants, their frequency, the proportion of studied spouses, the identified high-risk couples, the performed prenatal diagnoses and their results were analyzed. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis.

Results: Of the pregnant women, 7.18 % presented some hemoglobin variant. It was possible to study 92.64 % of the spouses, while abortion was the most significant unstudied cause. Twenty-seven high-risk couples were identified, 22 prenatal diagnoses were performed (81.50 %), and four fetuses were diagnosed, by molecular study, to present sickle cell anemia as a hemoglobinopathy, whose parents opted for pregnancy termination within the framework of genetic counseling.

Conclusions: The characterization of the hemoglobin program in pregnant women allowed us to identify the frequency of carriers within the studied group, as well as the effectiveness of genetic counseling offered to high-risk couples at the first level of care, since no live births were reported with the disease in the health area during the decade.