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Iron and vitamins
Serum iron
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The iron bound to transferrin in serum. It shows strong diurnal and day-to-day variability and is interpreted together with TIBC, transferrin saturation and ferritin rather than alone.
Reference interval
| Conventional (µg/dL) | SI (µmol/L) | |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 59–158 µg/dL | 10.6–28.3 µmol/L |
| Women | 37–145 µg/dL | 6.6–25.9 µmol/L |
Specimen: Serum (non-haemolysed, morning, fasting) · Conventional × 0.179 = SI
Causes of high values
Iron overload (haemochromatosis, repeated transfusion), haemolytic anaemia, sideroblastic anaemia, acute liver injury, recent oral iron intake or iron poisoning, oral contraceptives.
Causes of low values
Iron deficiency (blood loss, poor intake, malabsorption, pregnancy), anaemia of chronic disease and inflammation, acute infection, malignancy, nephrotic syndrome.
Pre-analytical and method notes
Males have higher values than females, with a morning peak and a fall in the evening, and values drop sharply during inflammation, so a single reading is unreliable. Haemolysis falsely raises the result, and oral iron should be withheld for 24 hours or more before sampling. Reference intervals vary by laboratory, method and population; use the interval printed on the report.
References
- Rifai N, Horvath AR, Wittwer CT. Tietz Textbook of Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics. Elsevier, 6th edition (2018) — Tier 3 (textbook)
- McPherson RA, Pincus MR. Henry's Clinical Diagnosis and Management by Laboratory Methods. Elsevier — Tier 3 (textbook)
- Haemoglobin concentrations for the diagnosis of anaemia and assessment of severity (WHO/NMH/NHD/MNM/11.1). World Health Organization (2011) — Tier 1 (standards / international bodies)
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