Abnormal serum iron levels can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'needs attention' to 'life-threatening'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.
Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose abnormal serum iron levels, we could:
Cause | Probability | Status |
---|---|---|
Metal Toxicity | 92% | Confirm |
Chronic Inflammation | 28% | Unlikely |
Iron Deficiency Anemia | 15% | Unlikely |
Cancer In General | 2% | Ruled out |
Hemochromatosis | 1% | Ruled out |
Megaloblastic Anemia | 0% | Ruled out |
Hemolytic Anemia | 0% | Ruled out |
Iron, serum. Unit: ug/dL [umol/L]
Possible responses:
→ Don't know→ Under 20 [3.6] (very low) → 20-59 [3.6-10.6] (low) → 60-175 [10.7-31.3] (normal) → Over 175 [31.3] (high) |
Elevated serum iron can occur in cases of lead poisoning.
Elevated serum iron can occur as a result of pernicious anemia.