Serum Vitamin E And The Sickling Status In Children With Sickle Cell Anaemia As Seen At Kenyatta National Hospital

Abstract

In this study, serum vitamin E levels were determined among 62 children with sickle cell anaemia and 35 age- , matched controls. Among the sicklers, the irreversibly sickled cell counts were done and correlated with the serum vitamin E levels. There was a significant difference in serum vitamin E values (P < 0.001). the sickle cell anaemia patients showing tendency to deflciency with 27% of them deficient as against 2.9% of the controls. It was found that the vitamin E deficient sicklers had a significantly higher irreversibly sickled cell counts (P < 0002), indicating that vitamin E is en important inhibitor of the irreversibly sickled cell formation.