Diagnosyis –⁠ iron deficiency

Overview

Iron deficiency is a relatively common pathological state in the population, but does not always manifest as anaemia but rather as non-specific symptoms, and is, therefore, often not diagnosed in its latent form. Individuals are at risk of iron deficiency when their natural intake of iron is lower than a chronic loss of iron or is simply not adequate due to the body’s increased demand for iron. The most typical and major group are women of fertile age followed by infants and some individuals in puberty and adolescence. The majority of their non-specific symptoms may be explained by latent iron deficiency. More specific and sensitive tests for iron deficiency should be carried out in clinical practice in these groups in addition to the evaluation of blood cell counts and serum iron levels because of the usually normal, and therefore confusing, values obtained by these two tests. In particular, tests for transferrin iron-binding capacity, serum ferritin, and perhaps soluble transferrin receptor. Methods such as the evaluation of erythrocyte protoporphyrin, bone marrow aspiration or biopsy stained for iron should be considered as a second approach for patients with developed anaemia if the results of the standard diagnostic panel are not conclusive. As opposed to the evaluation of just the serum iron level and blood cell count, the further tests outlined can aid in the distinction between chronic disease anaemia and iron-deficiency anaemia.

Key words:
iron deficiency, anaemia, ferritin, transferrin iron-binding capacity, soluble transferrin receptor, anaemia of chronic disease.