Limitations of Serum Ferritin in Diagnosing Iron Deficiency in Inflammatory Conditions

Table 3

Laboratory tests for iron deficiency [4, 32, 50, 64].

	Absolute iron deficiency	Functional iron deficiency in inflammation	Both absolute iron deficiency and functional iron deficiency
Serum ferritin			Depends on the degree of iron deficiency
TSAT
Hepcidin			Depends on degree of iron deficiency
CHr
% HYPO
sTfR			or normal
sTfR/log ferritin
CRP	Normal

CHr, content of reticulocyte hemoglobin; CRP, C-reactive protein; % HYPO, percentage of hypochromic erythrocytes; sTfR, soluble transferrin receptor; TSAT, transferrin saturation.