PARAMETERS OF IRON-DEFICIENCY IN CHILDREN WITH CYANOTIC CONGENITAL HEART-DISEASE

A group of 67 children with cyanotic congenital heart disease (CCHD) w ere studied, and 35 were given iron treatment according to a regimen t hat gives iron to patients with a hematocrit (Hct) below 60%. The pati ents were categorized as iron-deficient and iron-sufficient according to their transferrin saturation and ferritin values. The pretreatment hemoglobin (Hb) and Hct values of the groups were similar. The mean Hc t was nearly three times as much as the mean Hb in the iron-sufficient group and more than three times as much as the Hb in the iron-deficie nt group. Excessive erythrocytosis in the iron-deficient group was imp ressive. Mean corpuscular volume (MCV) values were below 72.7 fl in al l of the iron-deficient patients. After treatment the Hb, Hct, transfe rrin saturation, and ferritin increased significantly in both groups, with the increments greater in the iron-deficient group. Increments in the erythrocyte (RBC) count were significant in the iron-sufficient g roup but insignificant in the iron-deficient one. Increments of MCV in the iron-deficient group were significant but insignificant in the ir on-sufficient group. Our study demonstrated that prediction of Hb, RBC count, and MCV, measurements of which are easy and inexpensive and re quire little blood, can suffice for the diagnosis of iron deficiency i n patients with CCHD without altering systemic perfusion.