Abstract

PARRAGA, José Zacarías Rendón  and  ARANA, Matías. Reticulocyte hemoglobin in the early diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia. Vive Rev. Salud [online]. 2024, vol.7, n.19, pp.23-39.  Epub Jan 15, 2024. ISSN 2664-3243.  https://doi.org/10.33996/revistavive.v7i19.280.

Iron deficiency anemia is a prevalent global health problem that appears in children, adolescents and women of childbearing age, who are the most affected. Reticulocyte hemoglobin is a promising new biomarker for early diagnosis. Objective. To evaluate reticulocyte hemoglobin for the early diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia. Methodology. A systematic review was conducted searching biomedical databases including PubMed, Scielo, Researchgate, Base, Cochrane Library and DOAJ; 24 observational studies (2018-2023) were included on the use of reticulocyte hemoglobin in the diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia; data were extracted on the characteristics of the studies and the sensitivity and specificity values of this biomarker. Results. Reticulocyte hemoglobin showed a pooled sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 89.5% in the studies analyzed. It also showed a significant mean difference of -2.88 (95% CI: -3.36 to -2.40) between groups with and without iron deficiency anemia. Substantial heterogeneity was found among the results of the different studies (I2=95%; p<0.00001). Conclusion. Reticulocyte hemoglobin demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity, as well as a significant difference between groups with and without the condition, which shows its usefulness as a test for the early detection of iron deficiency anemia.

Keywords : Erythropoiesis; Diagnosis; Biomarker.

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