Distinguishing Iron Deficiency Anemia from Anemia of Chronic Disease Using Hematological Measures

Abstract

Anemia is a serious public health concern in
today’s world which is particularly affecting
young children, pregnant women,
menstruating adolescent girls and women.
The two most common causes of anemia are
iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and anemia of
chronic disease (ACD), often known as
anemia of inflammation. This study aim was
to assess the levels of certain hematological
parameters, including Hemoglobin
Estimation, Mean Corpuscular Volume
(MCV), Serum Ferritin, Serum TIBC,
Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate and C -
reactive protein to clearly differentiate
between iron deficiency anemia and anemia
of chronic disease. The study was conducted
in Department of Medical Lab Technology,
Riphah International University, Islamabad
from September 01, 2023 to January 01,
2024. A total of 109 samples with 59 of iron
deficiency anemia patients and 50 patients of
Anemia of chronic disease were assessed for
differentiation be these two diseases. The
significant level was selected with p-value
less than 0.05. Hemoglobin estimation,
TIBC, and ESR were significant in our
investigation as their p-values were less than
0.05. Hence, it concluded that Hemoglobin
estimation, total Iron Binding Capacity and
Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate were
Hematological parameters that distinguished
between Iron Deficiency Anemia and
Anemia of Chronic Disease.