Wallach's Interpretation of Diagnostic Tests: Pathways to Arriving at a Clinical Diagnosis (925 page)

   Differentiate iron deficiency from chronic disease as cause of anemia

   Monitor iron status in patients with chronic renal disease with or without dialysis

   Detect iron overload states and monitor rate of iron accumulation and response to iron depletion therapy

   Population studies of iron levels and response to iron supplement

   Interpretation

Increased In

   Acute and chronic liver disease.

   Alcoholism (declines during abstinence).

   Malignancies (e.g., leukemia, Hodgkin disease).

   Infection and inflammation (e.g., arthritis).

   Hyperthyroidism, Gaucher disease, acute myocardial infarction.

   Iron overload (e.g., hemosiderosis, idiopathic hemochromatosis).

   Anemias other than iron deficiency (e.g., megaloblastic, hemolytic, sideroblastic, thalassemia major and minor, spherocytosis, porphyria cutanea tarda).

   Renal cell carcinoma due to hemorrhage within tumor.