G6PD/PK ratio: a reliable parameter to identify glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency associated with microcytic anaemia in heterozygous subject

To determine if measuring the ratio of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) to pyruvate kinase (PK) is more reliablethan only measuring G6PD activity to identify heterozygous G6PD individuals with associated microcytic anemia in the Calabrianpopulation, which shows high frequencies of both the thalassaemia (thal) trait and G6PD deficiency.Design and methods: Measurement of G6PD and PK activities was carried out on 205 samples of whole blood from Calabrian subjectsof both sexes (age range 10-50 years) using a double starter differential pH-metry technique.Results: The G6PD/PK ratio is able to differentiate G6PD heterozygous individuals from the normal population. G6PD/PK values alsoallowed us to easily identify the G6PD heterozygous subjects with microcytic anaemia. Student's t test shows that G6PD/PK ratio is morereliable in both sample groups, relative to G6PD activity in normal subjects.Conclusions: G6PD/PK ratio is a reliable diagnostic parameter for mass screening for G6PD deficiency.