Thalassemia Strictly speaking, there is no thalassemia hemoglobin. Thalassemia comprises a complex group of genetic abnormalities in globin chain synthesis. There are three major clinical categories: thalassemia major, associated with severe and often life-threatening clinical manifestations; thalassemia minor, with mild or minimal clinical manifestations; and a combination of the thalassemia gene with a gene for […]
The usual signals of iron deficiency are a decreased MCV (or anemia with a low-normal MCV) or elevated RDW. Hypochromia with or without microcytosis on peripheral blood smear is also suspicious. Conditions frequently associated with chronic iron deficiency (e.g., malabsorption, megaloblastic anemia, pregnancy, infants on prolonged milk feeding) should also prompt further investigation. The major […]
Several laboratory tests are commonly used to screen for or establish a diagnosis of chronic iron deficiency. The sequence in which abnormal test results appear is given in the box below. In a normal adult on a normal diet made iron deficient by repeated phlebotomy (for experimental reasons), it takes about 3 months before significant […]
