[Reliability and validity of palmar and conjunctival pallor for anemia detection purposes].

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the reliability and the validity of the use of simple clinical signs as a method of anemia detection.

METHODS

The study was carried out in a S o Paulo, Brazil, day-care center, and included 135 children from ages 3 months-6 years. Hemoglobin level results and palmar and conjunctival pallor assessment were used. Children with Hb under 11g/dl were considered as anemic; subjective criteria were used for the assessment of palmar and conjunctival pallor. Kappa statistics were used in order to verify agreement, and, in order to evaluate the technique's validity, sensitivity and specificity levels were calculated.

RESULTS

The results show low levels of agreement. There was a greater level of sensitivity to conjunctival pallor than to palmar pallor. Specificity results may be considered as good.

CONCLUSIONS

It is still early to recommend the routine use of this technique. However, it could promote substantial savings if perfected.