Red Cell and Reticulocyte Parameters for the Detection of Iron Deficiency in Pregnancy.

Background: Iron deficiency is a common complication of pregnancy and may lead to anemia as pregnancy progresses. Routine screening tests in pregnancy include hemoglobin levels, but in most centers not a serum ferritin. Advances in red cell and reticulocyte indices on automated blood counters have the potential to detect iron deficiency earlier, but pregnancy is associated with a rapid expansion of the red cell mass and parameters based on the entire erythrocyte population are less sensitive to changes.

'Aussie Normals': an a priori study to develop reference intervals in a healthy Australian population using the Beckman Coulter LH 750 Haematology Analyser as candidates for harmonised values.

Reference limits or intervals are important benchmarks or tools that help the clinician to distinguish between a result that is most likely to lie within a 'healthy' or diseased category. It has been suggested that a review of haematology reference intervals is long overdue. In this study we report on our findings for analytes routinely measured in a complete blood count (CBC) performed on the Beckman Coulter LH 750 analyser and an additional comparative study using the Beckman Coulter LH 750, the Sysmex XN and Abbott Sapphire.

Low haemoglobin density for detecting iron deficiency across a large population, including pregnancy.

Introduction: Low haemoglobin density (LHD%) from Coulter counters has been suggested as a means to detect iron deficiency. Its performance in a broad population group, including pregnancy, has not been evaluated.

Methods: A retrospective study of adult and paediatric (under 12 years old) patient samples referred for blood counts and iron studies between October 2013 and March 2015.