CARLA FAGUNDES
Curso de Pós-graduação em Saúde Baseada em evidências da Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo. São Paulo, Brazil.
Adagmar Andriolo
Departamento de Medicina, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo. São Paulo, Brazil.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: the laboratory diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia is performed by hematological and biochemical parameters that lack sensitivity and specificity when used alone and may present late changes in the development of the disease. There is great interest in using new parameters, such as hemoglobin content in reticulocytes. Objectives: to evaluate the efficiency of measuring hemoglobin content in reticulocytes (RET-He test), compared to serum ferritin concentration in the diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia. Methods: the accuracy of the results of RET-He and ferritin concentration determinations obtained from the database of the Central Laboratory of the Hospital São Paulo da Escola Paulista de Medicina in 173 individuals was evaluated. ROC analysis was performed, integrating the sensitivity accuracy measures and the area under the curve (AUC) concerning the serum ferritin concentration. Results: the AUC of RET-He in this study was 0.97, indicating an excellent performance of RET-He in the detection/diagnosis of iron deficiency. The diagnostic value with the highest sensitivity (94%) and specificity (93%) is 25.85 pg. The mean RHE-He in the control group was 28.43pg (95%CI 25.93–30.93) and in the iron-deficient group, it was 20.37pg (95%CI 16.92–23.82). Conclusion: The measurement of RET-He adds value to the diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia. Future studies to verify reference values and cutoff values are still needed, in addition to verifying the harmonization between different equipment and methodologies available on the market.
Keywords: Reticulocyte Hemoglobin, Iron Deficiency, Iron Deficiency Anemia, Ferritin, Haematology Analyzers, Mindray BC-6800.
