Soluble transferrin receptors and reticulocyte hemoglobin concentration in the assessment of iron deficiency in hemodialysis patients

Background. Diagnosing iron deficiency in hemodialysis (HD) patients is crucial for correct anemia management. Hypochromic erythrocytes appear to be the best available marker, but they are often unavailable. Transferrin saturation (TSAT) and ferritin are also indicated as reference markers by guidelines. We evaluated the usefulness of soluble transferrin receptor (s-TfR) and reticulocyte hemoglobin concentration (CHr), which have been recently proposed as more sensitive functional iron deficiency indicators.