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Microcytic Anemia, Pediatric

Tannie Huang, MD and James N. Huang, MD Reviewed 10/2018
 


BASICS

DESCRIPTION

Microcytic anemia is defined as a hemoglobin 2 standard deviations (SD) below the mean associated with an abnormally low mean corpuscular volume (MCV). Use of age-based norms for bot...

DIAGNOSIS

HISTORY

  • Age of onset: Iron deficiency is most common in infancy and menstruating females. An adolescent male with IDA should be a red flag and an alert to look for ongoing occult blood loss.

  • E...

TREATMENT

Depends on cause of microcytic anemia 

GENERAL MEASURES

  • Many patients are identified on routine well-child screening. Consider therapeutic trial of iron supplementation without further workup ...

ONGOING CARE

FOLLOW-UP RECOMMENDATIONS

  • Repeat laboratory evaluation can be done in 1 month. Reticulocyte count is the first laboratory value to change and begins to increase within a week after the ini...

ADDITIONAL READING

  • Borgna-Pignatti C, Zanella S. Pica as a manifestation of iron deficiency. Expert Rev Hematol.  2016;9(11):1075–1080. [View Abstract on OvidInsights]

  • Higgs DR, Engel JD, Stamatoy...

CODES

ICD9

  • 280.9 Iron deficiency anemia, unspecified

  • 282.7 Other hemoglobinopathies

  • 280.8 Other specified iron deficiency anemias

ICD10

  • D50.9 Iron deficiency anemia, unspecified

  • D58.2 Other hemoglobinopathi...

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