MEASURED VERSUS CALCULATED LATENT IRON-BINDING-CAPACITY IN PLASMA OF NEWBORNS

Iron overload as well as iron deficiency may play a role in the pathog enesis of diseases in the newborn and infant and therefore knowledge o f the iron status is essential. Using an automated method for the dete rmination of plasma latent iron-binding capacity (LIBC) we measured th e LIBC in 20 full term and 20 preterm babies and 20 adults. LIBC was a lso calculated from transferrin and iron concentration. The measured L IBC strongly deviated from calculated LIBC in some samples and in seve n of 20 preterm babies no LIBC could be detected, suggesting the prese nce of non-protein-bound iron fraction. The results suggest that in th e neonate calculated LIBC overestimate the ability of the plasma to bi nd excessive iron.