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. 2023 Jan-Mar;45(1):52-57.
doi: 10.1016/j.htct.2021.05.006. Epub 2021 Jul 2.

Evaluation of RET-He values as an early indicator of iron deficiency anemia in pregnant women

Suzane Dal Bó  1 , Ana Luiza Rodrigues Fragoso  2 , Mariela Granero Farias  3 , Dariana Pimentel Gomes Hubner  2 , Simone Martins de Castro  2
Affiliations

Evaluation of RET-He values as an early indicator of iron deficiency anemia in pregnant women

Suzane Dal Bó et al. Hematol Transfus Cell Ther. 2023 Jan-Mar.

Abstract

Introduction: During pregnancy, women are at an increased risk of developing iron-deficiency anemia.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the diagnostic performance of the reticulocyte hemoglobin equivalent (RET-He) in the early detection of iron-deficiency anemia in a group of pregnant women and to establish a reference range for this parameter in a group of control individuals.

Method: A total of 60 patients and 130 control subjects were included in the study. Blood samples collected from the subjects were submitted to a complete blood count and a serum ferritin test and the data were analyzed by comparing the groups and ROC curves.

Results: The reference range found for the RET-He was between 29.75pg and 38.24pg, with a median of 35pg. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis for the ferritin parameter showed an area under the curve of 0.732 for the RET-He, 0.586 for hemoglobin, 0.551 for the mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration and 0.482 for the mean corpuscular volume.

Conclusion: Early diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy is essential to prevent damage to both maternal and fetal health. The RET-He presents an excellent potential as an auxiliary tool for the diagnosis of iron deficiency in pregnant women.

Keywords: Anemia; Hematology analyzers; Iron deficiency; Pregnancy diagnosis; RET-He; Reticulocytes.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig 1
Figure 1
Shows the ROC curve, the area under the curve (AUC), and their respective confidence intervals (95%), for the Ret-He, Hb, MCHC and MCV parameters
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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