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Investigation of microcytosis: a comprehensive approach
Author(s) -
MachPascual Sara,
Darbellay Regis,
Pilotto PierreAntonio,
Beris Photis
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
european journal of haematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1600-0609
pISSN - 0902-4441
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0609.1996.tb00490.x
Subject(s) - microcytosis , medicine , iron deficiency , anemia
Microcytosis is a highly prevalent finding during blood examination. This study investigates the causes of microcytosis (defined as mean corpuscular volume (MCV)<82 fl) in 466 patients referred to our laboratory for suspected hemoglobinopathy. The following data were obtained: Hb, MCV, serum iron, transferrin, ferritin, HbA2, HbF, isoelectric focusing of the Hb, gene mapping of chromosome 16 with Xba I and Bgl II and hybridization with an α‐ and a ζ‐probe, inflammatory status. Results show that iron deficiency remains the first cause of microcytosis (35.2% of our patients), even in a selected population such as ours. Deletional α‐thalassemia, probably the most frequent hemoglobinopathy throughout the world, represents the second most frequent cause of microcytosis (31.1%), followed by β‐thalassemia heterozygous state (18.9%). Of our patients, 1.3% had microcytosis due to the presence of an abnormal hemoglobin (HbC, Hb S/C, HbE). Three cases (0.6%) had other possible causes of microcytosis. Of the remaining 60 cases, 28 had an inflammatory state. Finally, 32 cases (6.9%) remain unexplained; taking into consideration the origin of these cases, their hematological parameters and their family history, we postulate that these cases are at high risk for non‐deletional α‐thalassemia.