🔬THALASSEMIA EASILY MIMICS IRON DEFICIENCY ANEMIA. I recently consulted a patient who, according to her complete blood count, showed all signs of iron deficiency – low hemoglobin, MCV, MCH, and elevated RDW – but her ferritin was within the normal range. Hemoglobin electrophoresis revealed an increased fetal hemoglobin fraction. Her daughter presented with the same picture. ❗Therefore, I recommend all doctors and patients to perform a ferritin test before starting iron deficiency therapy. Minor thalassemia cannot be distinguished from IDA based solely on a complete blood count. 👉🏻Previously, I believed that thalassemia could be easily distinguished from IDA by the RDW value (this parameter is always elevated in IDA). But this is not the case. The RDW anisocytosis index will be normal (a criterion for thalassemia) only if all erythrocytes are of the same small size, but this is not so common. 👉🏻Thalassemia is quite prevalent in Russia.
Thalassemia vs. Iron Deficiency Anemia: Differential Diagnosis
How to differentiate minor thalassemia from iron deficiency anemia: the role of ferritin, erythrocyte indices MCV and RDW, and hemoglobin electrophoresis in diagnosis.
