Iron tests
Iron tests are groups of clinical chemistry laboratory blood tests that are used to evaluate body iron stores or the iron level in blood serum.
Other terms used for the same tests are iron panel, iron profile, iron indices or iron status.
Tests
- Serum iron
- Ferritin
- Transferrin
- Total iron-binding capacity (TIBC)
- Transferrin saturation (Iron saturation of transferrin)
- Unsaturated iron binding capacity (UIBC)
- Transferrin receptor (TfR)
Related tests
- Complete blood count (CBC), especially:
- Hemoglobin, EVF or total red blood cells (RBC count)
- Mean corpuscular volume (MCV)
- Mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) or MCHC
Diagnosis
| IRON PANEL | Serum iron | Transferrin and TIBC | Transferrin saturation | Ferritin | Transferrin receptor | Related tests | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hb | MCV | ||||||
| Iron deficiency anemia | 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Iron overload (hemochromatosis) |
|
|
|
|
*
|
Normal | |
| Anemia of chronic disease |
|
|
|
*
|
*
|
|
|
| Porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) |
|
|
|
|
Normal | ||
| Thalassemia |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Sideroblastic anemia |
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
|
| Megaloblastic anemia |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Hemolytic anemia | *
|
*
|
*
|
*
|
|
|
|
| Pregnancy or use of hormonal contraception |
Normal |
|
|
||||
* = or normal.