Red blood cell distribution width is not a reliable biomarker for low iron stores in children with cystic fibrosis.

Low iron stores in children, absolute iron deficiency (AID), can lead to impaired neurodevelopment and requires iron therapy. In the presence of infection/inflammation, like in cystic fibrosis (CF), serum ferritin (SF) is not a reliable biomarker for AID. Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is a promising alternative reported not to be influenced by infection in healthy children.

Zinc protoporphyrin/heme ratio as parameter of iron status in moderately preterm infants: natural course and associations in the first 4 months.

Objective: To determine the natural course of zinc protoporphyrin/heme ratio (ZnPP/H) and its role in the detection of iron deficiency (ID) and iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) in the first 4 months of life in moderately preterm infants.

Study Design: ZnPP/H was measured at 1 week, 6 weeks and 4 months postnatal age in a prospective cohort of 161 Dutch infants born at a gestational age of 32+0 to 36+6 weeks who did not receive an erythrocyte transfusion or iron supplementation.

Results: ZnPP/H levels decreased in the first 6 weeks and increased thereafter.

Predictive factors of iron depletion in late preterm infants at the postnatal age of 6 weeks.

Background/objectives: Late preterm infants (born ⩾32 weeks of gestation) are at risk for developing iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia, and this may lead to impaired neurodevelopment. In the Netherlands, there is no guideline for standardised iron supplementation in these infants. Individualised iron supplementation has been suggested (that is, treating those infants with the highest risk), but risk factors for deprived iron stores in this specific group of infants are not well documented.

Serum hepcidin in infants born after 32 to 37 wk of gestational age.

Background: Preterm infants are at risk of iron deficiency (ID). Hepcidin has been suggested as a good additional indicator of ID in preterm infants, next to ferritin.

Methods: In a prospective observational study, we analyzed serum hepcidin in 111 infants born after 32+0 to 36+6 wk gestational age during the first 4 mo of life.

Red Blood Cell Distribution Width and the Platelet Count in Iron-deficient Children Aged 0.5-3 Years.

Early detection of iron deficiency (ID) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in young children is important to prevent impaired neurodevelopment. Unfortunately, many biomarkers of ID are influenced by infection, thus limiting their usefulness. The aim of this study was to investigate the value of red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and the platelet count for detecting ID(A) among otherwise healthy children.

Iron intake and status of children aged 6-36 months in Europe: a systematic review.

Background: Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional disorder in the world. Young children are particularly vulnerable to the consequences of iron deficiency because of their rapidly developing brain. This review evaluates the prevalence of inadequate iron intake and iron deficiency (anaemia) in European children aged 6-36 months.

Iron deficiency in the first 6 months of age in infants born between 32 and 37 weeks of gestational age.

Background/objectives: Preterm infants are at risk of iron deficiency (ID). In the Netherlands, preterm infants born after 32 weeks of gestational age (GA) do not receive iron supplementation on a routine basis. We hypothesized that dietary iron intake in these infants might not be sufficient to meet the high iron requirements during the first 6 months of life.

Serum hepcidin measured by immunochemical and mass-spectrometric methods and their correlation with iron status indicators in healthy children aged 0.5-3 y.

Background: The diagnostic use of hepcidin is limited by the absence of standardization and lack of age-specific reference ranges in children in particular. The aim of this study was to determine reference ranges of serum hepcidin in healthy children aged 0.5-3 y using mass spectometry (MS) and a commercial immunochemical (IC) assay, and to investigate its association with other indicators of iron status and inflammation.

The value of Ret-Hb and sTfR in the diagnosis of iron depletion in healthy, young children.

Objectives: Reticulocyte hemoglobin (Ret-Hb) content and soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) are described as promising biomarkers in the analysis of iron status. However, the value of Ret-Hb and sTfR in the early detection of iron depletion, as frequently observed in children in high-income countries, is unclear. We hypothesized that young children to iron depletion, using the WHO cutoff of ferritin <12 μg/l, would have lower Ret-Hb and higher sTfR concentrations compared to children with a ferritin ⩾level 12 μg/l.

The value of soluble transferrin receptor and hepcidin in the assessment of iron status in children with cystic fibrosis.

Background: The value of ferritin in the diagnosis of iron deficiency is limited in patients with CF since it increases in the presence of inflammation. We hypothesized that the soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) and hepcidin may provide more information than ferritin in assessing iron status in children with CF.

Methods: We analyzed sTfR and hepcidin in relation to conventional iron status indicators in 49 children with CF.

The influences of factors associated with decreased iron supply to the fetus during pregnancy on iron status in healthy children aged 0.5 to 3 years.

Objective: To investigate whether maternal anemia, pregnancy-induced diabetes, hypertension and smoking contributed to the recently found high prevalence of iron deficiency in a population of otherwise healthy children.

Study Design: Iron status was assessed in 400 children aged 0.5 to 3 years.

Prevalence and risk factors of iron deficiency in healthy young children in the southwestern Netherlands.

Objectives: Iron deficiency (ID) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA), during the first years of life, are associated with delayed motor and neurological development. Many studies evaluated iron status without an assessment of an acute-phase protein to identify infection. Because most indicators of iron status are influenced by infection, these data may underestimate the ID prevalence.

Iron deficiency occurs frequently in children with cystic fibrosis.

In adult CF patients iron deficiency (ID) is common and primarily functional due to chronic inflammation. No recent data are available on the cause of ID and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in children with CF. Over the last decades onset of inflammation and pulmonary disease in children with CF is delayed by improved nutritional status.

[Serious gastrointestinal complications due to accidental ingestion of magnetic toy parts].

A 3-year-old boy presented at the emergency room with abdominal pain, nausea and non-bilious vomiting. Physical examination revealed moderate symptoms of dehydration, a tender and slightly extended but soft abdomen and active peristalsis. With the working diagnosis of viral gastroenteritis the boy was admitted to the hospital for rehydration therapy by nasogastric tube.