Significance of RBC histogram in diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia in children

Objective: To survey the value of RBC histogram in the diagnosis and response observation of children with iron deficiency anemia(IDA).Methods: The RBC histogram and hematological parameters of twenty two children with IDA were observed,and the results were compared with those of the controls.Results: The hemoglobin(Hb),red blood cell count(RBC),hematocrit(HCT),mean corpuscular volume(MCV),mean corpuscular hemoglobin(MCH) and the mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration(MCHC) of the IDA group were significantly lower than those of the control(P<0.01).The RDW of the IDA group was significantly higher than that of the control (P<0.01).After therapy,the Hb,RBC,HCT,MCV,MCH,MCHC and RDW of the IDA group increased significantly (P<0.01).The RBC histograms jumping off points of most IDA children were less than 30 fl,which was significantly higher than those of the control(P<0.005) and the peak value and end-point were significantly lower than the control(P<0.01).After therapy,the peak value and end-point of RBC histograms of the IDA children increased significantly(P<0.05 and P<0.01),but still lower than the control(P<0.01).Conclusions: RBC histogram is of great value in the diagnosis and clinical observation of IDA.