Utility of red cell distribution width in screening for iron deficiency

Aims To assess the sensitivity of an adult-derived red cell distribution width (RDW) reference limit in the detection of iron deficiency in young children. Methods Haematological analysis performed on a cohort of 13-month-old healthy term infants of North European ancestry. Results 21/98 infants were iron-deficient (>2.5% hypochromic red cells). Of the remaining 77, 35 with RDW >13.9% also had evidence of incipient iron deficiency on the basis of significantly lower haemoglobin (11.5 vs 11.8 g/dl, p=0.046), mean cell volume (75.6 vs 77.8 fl, p=0.002) and mean cell haemoglobin (25.4 vs 26.2 pg, p=0.002) values and higher zinc protoporphyrin (55 vs 44 μmol/molhaem, p