Background:
The laboratory diagnosis of anemia through any of several techniques is not widely available and its cost is often unaffordable in poor areas of the world.
Objectives:
Thus we performed this study to assess the accuracy of clinical pallor in the diagnosis of anemia. The signs assessed in our study are palmer and mucous membrane of lip pallor
Subjects and Methods:
A cross sectional study for validation of the use of palmer and lip mucous membrane pallor for diagnosis of anemia
Results:
170 student were examined for the presence or absence o f pallor by the two pediatrician authors then they were subjected to determination of hemoglobin percent as a test for detection of anemia
There is a nearly similar high sensitivity for palmer, mucous membrane of lip pallor, and both in diagnosis of anemia. Specificity is low for different types of pallor in diagnosis of anemia with palmer pallor having the lowest one
Conclusion:
Lip mucous membrane and palmer pallor are not accurate clinical signs for diagnosing anemia. But they are good screening tests for it. The diagnosis of anemia in pale patients should be confirmed by laboratory tests