Volume : VII, Issue : V, May - 2018

Utility of red cell distribution width in evaluation of microcytic hypochromic anemia

Lisa Varma, Jayaprakash Cs

Abstract :

Background:  The microcytic hypochromic peripheral blood smear & laboratory findings cannot distinguish iron deficiency anemia from non–iron deficiency anemia. Hence, various indices like serum ferritin, serum iron, serum transferrin and bone marrow studies are required. Bone marrow studies are invasive methods and serum ferritin, serum transferrin, and serum iron are relatively expensive and not easily available at primary health centers. RDW, alongside other red cell indices, are a part of routine blood counts in laboratories using automated hematology analyzers. If this parameter could be used with sufficient accuracy to rule in or rule out different types of microcytic hypochromic anemias, further testing would be minimized and the cost of anemia work–up would drop considerably.

 

Methodology: The present study was carried out in the Department of Pathology, Father Muller Medical College, Mangalore from September 2014 to January 2016. Data with regard to age, gender, clinical features, peripheral blood findings and red cell indices (Hemoglobin, RBC count, MCV, MCH, MCHC,RDW) of the patients were studied.

Results: This study included a total 101 cases of microcytic hypochromic anemia out of which 67 were females and 34 were males. The age of the patients in the study ranged from 17–91 years. The mean value for RDW in IDA is 20.7424% and 19.8357% for NON–IDA. It showed no significance between the two groups. (p=.142).

Conclusion: The present study showed that RDW when used alone for diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia, is of limited utility. Similarly, normal or increased serum ferritin values alone do not exclude IDA, as the values may be increased in individuals with iron deficiency anemia along with acute and chronic infections. However, RDW when used in systemic manner in combination with other parameters such as serum iron, serum ferritin, iron binding capacity, serum transferrin saturation , bone marrow biopsy and hemoglobin studies are still necessary to make an accurate diagnosis of the cause of microcytosis. Because of the lack of specificity, we do not feel that a patient with microcytic RBC indices can be reliably categorized using only RDW as parameter.

Keywords :

Article: Download PDF   DOI : 10.36106/ijsr  

Cite This Article:

Lisa Varma, Jayaprakash CS, Utility of red cell distribution width in evaluation of microcytic hypochromic anemia, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH : Volume-7 | Issue-5 | May-2018

Number of Downloads : 203

References :