The diagnosis of iron deficiency or functional iron deficiency is particularly challenging in patients with acute or chronic inflammatory conditions because most of the biochemical markers for iron metabolism are affected by acute phase reaction.

Scientists at the Hospital Galdakao – Usansolo, (Galdakao, Spain), used the program of the LH 780 analyzer to study 110 patients with iron deficiency (IDA); 65 with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and 85 with anemia of chronic disease (ACD), 24 of whom were iron deficient and 61 were iron sufficient and 90 healthy subjects. A total of 350 peripheral blood samples were analyzed during the 2-month period from March 2010 to April 2010.

Low hemoglobin density values showed no statistical difference in patients with IDA and patients with ACD accompanied with IDA. The LHD% values in these patients were significantly different compared with the iron-sufficient patients with ACD. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis for LHD% in the detection of iron deficiency showed the following: area under curve 0.903; cut off 5.5%, with a sensitivity of 88.6%, and a specificity of 76.9%.

The author concluded that in the present study the parameter, LHD% is useful for diagnosing iron deficiency and is a reliable parameter for recognizing subsets of anemic patients and therefore improving the diagnosis and management of anemia. The LHD% analysis can be performed simultaneously in the course of routine blood counts, with no incremental costs and no additional blood sampling. In conjunction with standard blood cell counts and iron parameters, LHD% could enable the diagnosis to be made rapid and accurately, when using the LH 780 analyzer (Beckman Coulter Inc., Miami, FL, USA). The study was published on July 4, 2011, in the International Journal of Laboratory Hematology.

Related Links:
Hospital Galdakao – Usansolo
Beckman Coulter Inc.