Serum
umol/L
Females: 6.6 – 28.3
Males: 10.6 – 28.3
Saturation 20 – 50%
A depleted iron store is the only cause of iron deficiency.
The best index of iron stores is serum ferritin, and not measurement of iron and total iron saturation (methods for the latter are prone to error and there is a diurnal fluctuation in serum iron which can alter circulating levels by a factor of three).
Serum iron measurement is valuable in cases of suspected iron poisoning in children, and as a means of monitoring the treatment of iron loading disorders (such as haemochromatosis) with desferrioxamine and other drugs.
Calculation of the iron saturation can be useful in establishing the diagnosis of haemochromatosis if this is suspected on the basis of a high ferritin result (refer to the Haemochromatosis page in Molecular Genetics, for the indications for genetic testing in patients suspected to have Haemochromatosis).
1 day
Local test
Can be added on to an existing request up to 4 days following sample receipt
25 days
Specimen Labelling Procedure
8210
