I saw a young woman, otherwise well, for follow-up of iron deficiency anemia (IDA). She was (once again) eating ice and had recent onset of restless legs. Her labs showed microcytic (normochromic) anemia with thrombocytopenia and a ferritin of 6. A perusal of past CBCs revealed an AMAZING variation in IDA-associated abnormalities with no less than 4 distinct patterns emerging in a single patient over time (see graphic)! It’s important to keep an open mind when interpreting the CBC of patients with suspected IDA.
The following two cases provide additional evidence of how the pattern of iron deficiency anemia may vary between patients:
