Hello,

I agree with Michael Collins!

There is little point in measuring iron (poisoning excluded and there is no need to measure TIBC in a case of poisoning), transferrin is an acute phase reactant which complicates the situation, then to make matters worse there is anaemia of chronic disorder.

If it's necessary to assess an individual's iron status then we should measure' hepcidin'; those of us old enough will remember reading the elctrolyte section in books referring to the 'third factor' before natriuretic hormones were discovered.

John Martin
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