Description
Serum iron is a medical laboratory test that measures the amount of circulating iron that is bound to transferrin and serum ferritin. Clinicians order this laboratory test when they are concerned about iron deficiency, which can cause anemia and other problems. Serum measurements are useful in the diagnosis of iron deficiency and hemochromatosis.
Total Iron Test used to see if there is too much or too little iron in the blood. Iron moves through the blood attached to a protein called transferrin. This Test is often used to differentiate between anemia types and gives more iron statistics than the Iron Test alone.
Disorders of iron homeostasis rank among the most common of human diseases. These include states of either iron deficiency (inadequate adsorption or increased loss) or iron overload (normal erythropoiesis but iron exceeds iron binding capacity of transferrin or catabolism of red cells causes iron overload). Serum iron levels fluctuate considerably in response to various pathologic as well as physiologic conditions, and as such, require additional studies to assess a patient`s iron status.
Iron is transported in the blood by transferrin (essentially all circulating iron is bound to transferrin). The Total Iron is the amount of iron needed to 100% saturate transferrin (thus an indirect measurement of transferrin). The assay for iron measures the amount of iron which is bound to transferrin.
Serum Iron is increased in hemosiderosis, hemolytic anemias (especially thalassemia), sideroblastic anemias, hepatitis, acute hepatic necrosis, hemochromatosis, and with inappropriate iron therapy.Some patients who receive multiple transfusions (eg, some hemolytic anemias, thalassemia, renal dialysis patients) will have increased serum iron levels.
Serum iron is decreased with insufficient dietary iron, chronic blood loss (including the hemolytic anemias, paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria), inadequate absorption of iron; and impaired release of iron stores as in inflammation, infection, and chronic diseases.
