These test are ordered in patients whose symptoms confers iron deficiency anaemia like:
A serum iron and other iron tests may be ordered when iron overload (hemochromatosis) is suspected.
Serum iron, total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), and/or transferrin tests are ordered mostly all together and after that transferrin saturations can be calculated which provide information regarding the how much iron is being carried in the blood. Ferritin confers the total iron stores in the patient .
SNo | Iron deficiency | Anaemia of chronic disease | Iron overload |
---|---|---|---|
S. Iron | decreased | decreased | increased |
S.Transferrin, TIBC | increased | decreased | decreased |
Transferrin Saturation | decreased | decreased | increased |
S. Ferritin | decreased | normal | increased |