Iron profile test

Iron is a mineral in your body that comes from foods like red meat and fortified cereals or from An Symptoms of low iron include: • Tiredness • • • • Pale • Fast heartbeat Symptoms of high iron include: • • Tiredness • Weakness or a lack of energy • Types of Iron Blood Tests There are several different tests to check the level of iron in your body. These tests show how much of the mineral is moving through your blood, how well your blood carries it, and how much iron is stored in your tissues. • Serum iron. This test measures the amount of iron in your blood. • Serum ferritin . This test measures how much iron is stored in your body. When your iron level is low, your body will pull iron out of “storage” to use. • Total iron-binding capacity (TIBC). This test tells how much transferrin (a protein) is free to carry iron through your blood. If your TIBC level is high, it means more transferrin is free because you have low iron. • Unsaturated iron-binding capacity (UIBC). This test measures how much transferrin isn’t attached to iron. • Transferrin saturation. This test measures the percentage of transferrin that is attached to iron. Taking the Tests Some tests require you to stop eating about 12 hours before you give blood. Your A low iron level can be caused by: • A lack of iron in your diet • Trouble absorbing iron from foods you eat • Blood loss • A lack of iron can affect your body's ability to make red blood cells. If your iron level is too low, you could have A high iro...

Iron tests are used to check whether the iron levels in the body are too high (iron overload) or too low (leading to iron deficiency anemia). They can also rule out conditions with similar symptoms or see if treatments used to treat iron overload or iron deficiency anemia are working. Types of Iron Tests There are several different tests used to evaluate the status of iron in your body. All of them yield slightly different pieces of information. Your healthcare provider will often order more than one of these tests from a single blood draw. • Serum iron: Used to measure the total amount of iron in the blood • Serum ferritin: Used to determine if the total iron content is too low or too high • Serum transferrin: Used to measure the amount of transferrin in the blood • Total iron-binding capacity (TIBC): Use to show much transferrin is available to carry iron • Transferrin saturation test: Used to determine the percentage of transferrin that is “filled up” with iron • Transferrin receptor protein (TRP): Used to measure the number of proteins that bind to iron There are different types of iron tests that yield slightly different pieces of information. Based on the findings of the combined tests, the lab can offer explanations as to why iron levels are either too high or too low. Risks and Contraindications There are few, if any, risks associated with iron blood tests. These are basic tests that require a simple blood draw. There may be slight bleeding or bruising at the site ...

Within 1 day Turnaround time is defined as the usual number of days from the date of pickup of a specimen for testing to when the result is released to the ordering provider. In some cases, additional time should be allowed for additional confirmatory or additional reflex tests. Testing schedules may vary. Differential diagnosis of anemia, especially with hypochromia and/or low MCV. The percent saturation sometimes is more helpful than is the iron result for iron deficiency anemia. Evaluate thalassemia and possible sideroblastic anemia; work-up hemochromatosis, in which iron is increased and iron saturation is high. Decrease in iron level after performance of Schilling supports the diagnosis of vitamin B 12 deficiency, vide infra. Evaluate iron poisoning (toxicity) and overload in renal dialysis patients, or patients with transfusion dependent anemias. Use of TIBC in iron toxicity may be less useful than previous believed. 1 TIBC or transferrin is a useful index of nutritional status. Uncomplicated iron deficiency: Serum transferrin (and TIBC) high, serum iron low, saturation low. Usual causes of depleted iron stores include blood loss, inadequate dietary iron. RBCs in moderately severe iron deficiency are hypochromic and microcytic. Stainable marrow iron is absent. Serum ferritin decrease is the earliest indicator of iron deficiency if inflammation is absent. Anemia of chronic disease: Serum transferrin (and TIBC) low to normal, serum iron low, saturation low or normal. T...

The following make up the Iron Panel Test. These tests look at serum ferritin, total-iron-binding-capacity, transferrin, hemoglobin, and serum iron. These tests need to be taken as a panel, not independently, to receive a comprehensive and accurate assessment of a potential hemochromatosis diagnosis. SERUM IRON (SI) This test is best conducted after fasting for at least three hours. Also, iron or vitamin C supplements should be discontinued at least three days before taking the test. Do not discontinue other medication unless your doctor tells you to. SERUM FERRITIN (SF) This test measures the amount of iron contained or stored in the body. Serum ferritin reference ranges are different for adults and children. For adults, the ideal range is 50-150 ng/ml. TOTAL IRON BINDING CAPACITY (TIBC) This test tells how well your body can bind to iron. Serum iron divided by TIBC x 100% gives you important information about the transferrin-iron saturation percentage (TS%). TS% is usually 25-35%; in some people with iron overload, the TS% is very high. There are other types of iron overload where the TS% is normal. HEMOGLOBIN (Hgb) Hemoglobin value determines the absence or presence of anemia. It does not quantify iron but hemoglobin levels are vital to determining the therapy for iron reduction (or replenishment.) In the case of iron reduction Hgb needs to be sufficient for blood removal otherwise, iron chelation might be considered. TRANSFERRIN (TF) Transferrin is sometimes included i...

A quick summary of iron blood test: • Serum iron blood test measures how much iron inside the body. • Ferritin test measures how much iron is stored inside cells. • TIBC test (total iron-binding capacity) measures all proteins needed to link iron including transferrin (means the total transferring available). • UIBC test (unsaturated iron-binding capacity) measures how much iron for saturation of transferrin. • Transferrin saturation is a calculated percentage to tell how much transferrin is full with iron. • Morning iron is higher than the rest of the day’s iron levels by 30%. • 67% of the body’s iron is inside hemoglobin in red blood cells, other iron is bound to transferrin in blood or ferritin in bone marrow, or stored in more body tissues. • 3.5% of the total iron in the body is inside Muscles as myoglobin. • 27% of all iron inside cells are stored in Ferritin & hemosiderin. • Children and women need more of iron than adult men that’s because children need iron for growth, also woman has menses bleeding every month. Did You know: Sorry Iron tests is a long story, please bookmark this page and read carefully to understand your case better. What causes iron deficiency? You have iron deficiency anemia when your lab results are lower than normal levels as seen in iron blood test results. Causes of shortage of iron in the body include: • Body lose iron through excessive urination, exfoliating of old skin cells, defecation, and sweating. • Poor diets that has insufficient i...

The iron profile includes a measurement of serum iron and transferrin levels as well as a calculation of transferrin (iron) saturation. Iron is an essential component of hemoglobin and several other important proteins. A lack of iron caused by a dietary deficiency, intestinal malabsorption or digestive bleeding can lead to a decrease in hemoglobin levels resulting in anemia (chronic fatigue, weakness, pallor, dizziness). More rarely, there may be an excess of iron, which then tends to settle into tissues and interfere with their functioning (hemochromatosis). Most of the iron in the human body is found in the hemoglobin of red blood cells. Small amounts of iron are found in serum and are bound to transferrin, a protein that transports iron between stores (especially the liver) and bone marrow, where hemoglobin is synthesized. The interpretation of serum iron levels must take into account the saturation level of transferrin, a protein produced by the liver. The iron profile is often completed by testing the level of ferritin, the main protein that stores iron in tissues. (Refer to the sections concerning iron, transferrin, ferritin and iron saturation.)