Red cell indices and serum ferritin levels in children

The blood counts of 187 non-anaemic children who attended hospital with minor illnesses and who were between the ages of 12 months and 6 years were studied retrospectively. As many as 76-8% of these children were found to have MCVs below the normal adult range. A prospective study of a further 28 non-anaemic children in the same age group showed that the majority of children with low MCVs have normal haemoglobin A2 and F levels and have serum ferritin levels within the normal adult range. These findings indicate that microcytosis is an intrinsic feature of erythropoiesis in early childhood and that in most instances this feature cannot be attributed to iron deficiency or beta-thalassaemia syndromes.