Keywords: Anemia Diagnosis, Interactive Web-Based Tool, AI-Assisted Decision Support
Introduction:
Anemia is a prevalent condition that demands prompt evaluation and accurate diagnosis. Traditional methods, relying on lab data and clinical judgment, can vary in interpretation. To standardize data collection and enhance diagnostic accuracy, we developed an interactive digital questionnaire. This tool employs web technologies to integrate clinical guidelines, perform real-time calculations, and offer user-friendly features, all to facilitate a systematic anemia assessment.
Method:
The questionnaire is built as a single-page web application using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Its design is organized into several sections:
Patient Identification: Captures demographics such as name, social security number, sex, date of birth, and age.
Settings: Customizes laboratory reference ranges (e.g., MCV values) and offers unit conversion between SI and US systems.
Complete Blood Count (CBC): Gathers key hematological parameters like hemoglobin, MCV, hematocrit, reticulocyte percentage, and RBC count, and calculates indices such as the Mentzer Index.
Serum Studies: Includes fields for serum iron, TIBC, transferrin, ferritin, and soluble transferrin receptor, along with calculations like transferrin saturation.
Hematology Lab: Records additional findings such as peripheral smear characteristics, RBC morphology, and specialized tests.
Medical History: Documents chronic conditions, medications, and other relevant factors.
Key functionalities include input validation, dynamic calculations (e.g., corrected reticulocyte percentage, RPI, eGFR), conditional logic to streamline data entry, unit conversion, enhanced user experience with tooltips and alerts, and basic client-side security.
Results:
The tool provides real-time feedback, immediate calculations, and alerts for abnormal values, enhancing diagnostic precision for conditions such as iron deficiency, thalassemia, or anemia of chronic disease while streamlining workflow.
Conclusions:
This digital questionnaire marks a significant advancement in anemia diagnosis for primary care, combining robust clinical algorithms with a user-centric design to standardize data collection and improve diagnostic efficiency.
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