Reticulocyte hemoglobin content in 13 critically ill patients: a preliminary study

SUMMARY In the presence of inflammation, iron availability for erythropoiesis is decreased, and hemoglobin production is reduced in reticulocytes. The reticulocyte hemoglobin content (CHr) provides a real picture of bone marrow status and could be useful to evaluate iron metabolism in critically ill patients. We conducted a preliminary study to evaluate the feasibility to measure the CHr in the intensive care units of two university hospitals and to evaluate the impact of C-reactive protein on CHr values. The CHr was measured in 14 consecutive critically ill patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit between 48 and 96 hours. One patient with a ferritin concentration < 100 mg/L was excluded to eliminate a possible coexistence of iron deficiency with inflammation. A statistically signifi- cant correlation was observed between C-reactive protein concentrations and CHr values (r =- 0.588; P = 0.03, n = 13). The results observed in this preliminary study are interesting and could be useful to establish the research protocol for a future study evaluating iron metabolism in criti- cally ill patients. A larger study is feasible and warranted given the results observed in this preliminary study.