| Table 22: Commonly available tests for the work-up of anemia and iron deficiency | ||
|---|---|---|
| Test | Suspected etiologies | Remarks |
| Transferrin saturation, ferritin, serum iron | Iron deficiency | Ferritin may be artificially elevated in chronic inflammatory states; transferrin saturation may be low in patients with cachexia |
| Fecal occult blood; upper and lower endoscopy | GI-related blood loss | Referral to gastroenterology |
| TSH | Thyroid related disorders | |
| Peripheral smear, reticulocyte count/ index, LDH, haptoglobin, bone marrow biopsy | Multiple | |
| B12 | Nutritional deficiency | Uncommon in Canada |
| Hemoglobin electrophoresis | Thalassemia; sickle cell disease | Target testing to those in high prevalence population |
| Serum and urine protein electrophoresis | Multiple myeloma, amyloidosis and other protein disorders | |