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Abstract

Iron Deficiency or Haemoglobinopathy? Differential Diagnosis by Red Cell Indices Produced by the ADVIA® Bayer Haematological Automat by Albert Kremer, Dolphe Kutter, Paul Groff

Differentiation of heterozygous β-thalassaemia from iron-defïcient microcytosis by means of the percentage ratio of microcytic erythrocytes (PMiE) and the percentage of hypochromic erythrocytes (PHE) has been attempted. Even though high efficiency was achieved, absolute separation of the two pathologies was not possible. Perfect differentiation for values outside of a delimited grey area was obtained for our test population. Absolute separation however, is not claimed. The comparison of our results with those obtained by other authors highlights the necessity of a suitable reference material for inter-laboratory calibration of the analysers.

DOI: Clin. Lab. 1999;45:547-551