Use of Reticulocyte Hemoglobin Content in the Assessment of Iron Deficiency in Children With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Background: Iron deficiency and anemia affect up to 50% to 75% of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Iron deficiency in IBD may be difficult to diagnose because of the effect of inflammation on iron status biomarkers. Thus, there is a need for better methods to accurately determine iron status in IBD. Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the association of inflammation with hemoglobin content of reticulocytes (CHr) and the utility of CHr in comparison to standard iron biomarkers. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of children with IBD. Iron biomarkers (CHr, ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor [sTfR], hepcidin, hemoglobin) were measured along with systemic biomarkers of inflammation (C-reactive protein, α1-acid glycoprotein]. Spearman correlations were used to evaluate the relation of inflammation and iron biomarkers. The criterion standard for iron deficiency was defined as inflammation-corrected ferritin 8.3 mg/L. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to estimate the prognostic values of all iron biomarkers to identify patients with iron deficiency. Results: We analyzed data in 62 children ages 5 to 18 years. Sixty-nine percent of our subjects had Crohn disease and 31% had ulcerative colitis, of which 42% were girls and 53% African American. The prevalence of anemia was 32%, of iron deficiency was 52% using ferritin 8.3 mg/L, 39% using red blood cell distribution width of>14.5%, 26% using body iron stores of
Source: Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition - Category: Gastroenterology Tags: Original Articles: Gastroenterology: Inflammatory Bowel Disease Source Type: research