Background: Vitamin B12 deficiency is thought to be more common than was previously believed. A strict vegetarian diet has been associated with increased risk of vitamin B12 deficiency. Erythrocyte indices have been used in the initial evaluation of anemic patients. Raised mean corpuscular volume (MCV) is commonly used by physicians as an indicator for megaloblastic anemia caused by vitamin B12 deficiency.
Objective: (1) The objective of the study was to study the correlation between serum vitamin B12 level and MCV. (2) Prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency in this region.
Materials and Methods: We had retrospectively observed the records of serum vitamin B12 and complete blood cell count of both outpatients and inpatients from January 2016 to February 2017. Total, 1110 cases were studied. Peripheral smears of all patients were studied.
Results: The prevalence of vitamin B12 was 33.06%. Most common age was the 4th decade with female predominance. Out of 367 patients who were vitamin B12 deficient, 28% had low MCV, and 52% had normal MCV. Out of 743 patients with normal vitamin B12 level, 12% had high MCV. It suggests that there is no correlation between vitamin B12 levels and MCV in the majority of cases.
Conclusion: Every third person is vitamin B12 deficient in this region. MCV is unreliable as a screening parameter for the presumed diagnosis of macrocytic anemia, which is associated with vitamin B12 deficiency.
Key words: Megaloblastic Anemia; Vitamin B12; Mean Corpuscular Volume
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