Iron deficiency anemia in the third millenium: “new” parameters for monitoring response to treatment

Key words: Iron deficiency anaemia, Weaning, Dietary anamnesis, Reticulocytes, CHr

Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) secondary to inadequate dietary iron intake are still in the third millennium the most common nutritional disorder and the most common haematological diseases of infancy and childhood. The article discusses dietary habits, including the modality of weaning, and the role of reticulocyte parameters (reticulocyte haemoglobin content -CHr- and absolute reticulocyte count-ARC) as accurate markers in monitoring early response to oral iron supplementation in a cohort of 81 IDA paediatric patients with high anamnestic suspicion of inadequate iron intake.