Iron Deficiency Anemia Diagnostic Tests

Complete Blood Count (CBC): Hemoglobin – Males (< 13.5 g/dL), Females (< 12 g/dL) Hematocrit – Males (< 41%), Females (< 36%) RDW ( > 11% – 14%) MCV: Mean Corpuscular Volume ( < 80 – 100 fL) MCH: Mean Cell Hemoglobin ( < picograms/cell) MCHC : Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration ( < 32 – 36 g/dL) Blood smear: poikilocytosis, anisocytosis, target cells, cigar/pencil-shaped cells, nucleated RBCs

Serum Ferritin – (males: < 100 µg/dL; females: < 30 µg/dL) the most sensitive and the most convenient lab test for IDA Serum Iron – (< micrograms/dL) Total Iron Binding Capacity – (> 300 – 360 µg/dL) o Transferrin Saturation: (normally 25-50%) serum iron x 100< 18% = IDA TIBC Bone Marrow Aspiration – the gold standard for IDA determination, but since painful and expensive, the Serum Ferritin test would suffice. It also provides info on effective delivery of iron to developing erythroblasts. IDA indicated by few or absent sideroblasts.

Other Laboratory Tests Red Cell Protoporphyrin Levels – (> 100 µg/dL) there is an accumulation of protoporphyrin caused by iron deficiency and lead poisoning Serum levels of Transferrin Receptor Protein (> 4 – 9 µg/dL) Values reflect total erythroid body mass and are elevated in absolute iron deficiency