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28th May 2025
An 82-year-old woman is in hospital, currently being treated for pneumonia.
An 82-year-old woman is in hospital, currently being treated for pneumonia. She has a background of Alzheimer’s dementia, COPD, and hypertension. She lives alone, although there are concerns from her family that she is not managing well.
Her initial bloods show anaemia. Further testing reveals:
| Hb | 88 g/L | Female (115-160 g/L) |
| WBC | 14 x 10⁹/L | (4.0-11.0 x 10⁹/L) |
| Platelets | 600 x 10⁹/L | (150-500 x 10⁹/L) |
| MCV | 79 fL | (82-100 fL) |
| Ferritin | 70 ng/mL | (12-150 ng/L) |
| Serum iron | 5 | (11-38nmol/L) |
| Transferrin | ||
| Saturation | 11% | <16% |
| TIBC | 75 nmol/L | (45-66 nmol/L) |
| Vitamin B12 | 220 ng/L | (200-900 ng/L) |
| Folate | 5.0 nmol/L | >3.0 nmol/L |
Which type of anaemia is most in keeping with this presentation?
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