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Article: Reticulocyte hemoglobin more accurately measures iron levels.(Clinical Rounds)
- Article from:
- Family Practice News
- Article date:
- December 15, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 International Medical News Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Reticulocyte hemoglobin content appears to be a better marker of iron deficiency than erythrocyte hemoglobin in healthy infants aged 9-12 months, and may even be a useful tool for predicting later anemia, Christina Ullrich, M.D., and her associates reported.
Reticulocyte hemoglobin is a more accurate marker because it measures the iron in blood cells newly released from bone marrow, said Dr. Ullrich of Children's Hospital, Boston, and her associates (JAMA 2005:294:924-30).
"The hemoglobin test is based on the entire population of red blood cells, which live for about 120 days and don't gain any iron once they are released from the marrow," she said in an ...