| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
Original Research Communication |
1 From the Department of Nutrition, Pennsylvania State University, University Park (NA, VW, and RM), and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka (AdS and SA).
Background: Assessing iron status continues to be challenging in field situations. Spot methods developed for analyzing ferritin from serum or plasma samples that are spotted and dried on filter paper have been shown to provide reliable and accurate iron-status assessments. However, the spot methods are based on samples from venous serum or plasma and have not been evaluated in field settings.
Objective: We evaluated the validity of analyzing ferritin to assess iron status by using venous and capillary dried-serum-spot (DSS) samples by the spot method compared with using serum ferritin by the traditional method in a field setting.
Design: Venous and capillary blood was obtained from healthy schoolchildren (n = 100; 
± SD age: 8.9 ± 0.3 y) in Colombo, Sri Lanka. To prepare DSS samples, we aliquoted precisely 20 µL serum per spot on filter paper, air-dried the spots, and placed them in airtight plastic bags until analysis by the spot ferritin method with the use of cellulase from Trichoderma reesei at 2 wk after collection. Venous serum (100 µL) was frozen until ferritin determination by traditional radioimmunoassay.
Results: Venous and capillary DSS ferritin values correlated strongly with traditional serum ferritin values (r = 0.88 and 0.86, respectively; P = 0.0001). The geometric means (±1 SD) for venous and capillary DSS ferritin and traditional ferritin were 26.9 (15.3–47.4), 33.9 (20.9–54.8), and 33.1 (18.6–58.8) µg/L, respectively, and were not significantly different. Venous and capillary DSS methods on average (±SD) yielded ferritin values that were 5.8 ± 10.1 µg/L lower and 0.1 ± 9.4 µg/L higher, respectively, than serum ferritin values obtained with the traditional method.
Conclusions: Capillary and venous DSS methods for analyzing ferritin provide accurate tools for assessing iron status. Furthermore, capillary DSS ferritin is a practical means of detecting iron deficiency in field settings.
Key Words: Iron-status assessment • ferritin • dried serum spots • capillary blood and venous blood • filter paper • Sri Lanka • children
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  Z. Yang, K. G Dewey, B. Lonnerdal, O. Hernell, C. Chaparro, S. Adu-Afarwuah, E. D McLean, R. J Cohen, M. Domellof, L. H Allen, et al. Comparison of plasma ferritin concentration with the ratio of plasma transferrin receptor to ferritin in estimating body iron stores: results of 4 intervention trials Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, June 1, 2008; 87(6): 1892 - 1898. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
N. Ahluwalia, J. Bulux, N. W Solomons, M.-E. Romero-Abal, M. Mercedes Hernandez, and E. Boy Ferritin concentrations in dried serum spots prepared by standard compared with simplified approaches: a validation study in Guatemala City Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, June 1, 2005; 81(6): 1366 - 1371. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 B. Shell-Duncan and T. McDade Use of Combined Measures from Capillary Blood to Assess Iron Deficiency in Rural Kenyan Children J. Nutr., February 1, 2004; 134(2): 384 - 387. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Monarrez-Espino and T. Greiner Measuring serum ferritin under field conditions Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, November 1, 2002; 76(5): 1138 - 1138. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
N. Ahluwalia, S. Atukorala, and A. de Silva Reply to J Monarrez-Espino and T Greiner Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, November 1, 2002; 76 (5): 1138 - 1139. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
