title: Erythrocyte indexes, iron metabolism, and hyperhomocysteinemia in adults with cyanotic congenital cardiac disease.
abstract: A high percentage of cyanotic adults (37%) with cyanotic congenital cardiac disease (CCD) presented with depleted iron stores (13 of 52) or latent iron deficiency (6 of 52), even in a CCD center in which cyanotic patient phlebotomy is mostly avoided. In many of these patients, hypochromia and microcytosis was frequent, whereas hyperchromia and macrocytosis were relatively common.Furthermore, 50% of patients presented with hyperhomocysteinemia, possibly related to folate or B vitamin deficiencies, which may increase red blood cell size and color, explaining the lack of microcytosis and hypochromia in many cyanotic patients with iron deficiency.
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Kinderkardiologie und angeborene Herzfehler, Lazarettstrasse 36, 80636 Munich, Germany. Kaemmerer@dhm.mhn.de
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kaemmerer
authors.forename: Sohrab
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fratz
authors.forename: Siegfried L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Braun
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Koelling
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Eicken
authors.forename: Silke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brodherr-Heberlein
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pietrzik
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hess
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018798:Anemia, Iron-Deficiency / Q000150:complications*; D004909:Erythrocyte Indices; D005260:Female; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D020138:Hyperhomocysteinemia / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged