Serum ferritin: The highs, lows, interpretations and referral tips for gastroscopy/colonoscopy

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Serum ferritin: The highs, lows, interpretations and referral tips for gastroscopy/colonoscopy

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Vanessa Weenink

Bloood sample
Any haemoglobin level below the reference range with a low serum ferritin level in a patient aged >50 years should prompt colonoscopy within six weeks

Gastroenterology

The serum ferritin test is commonly used and there are many causes of high and low ferritin levels. The relevant conditions cover many specialties but gastrointestinal disease features highly. This article is not comprehensive but it gives some tips to help the further investigation of an abnormal result

Ferritin level is the best indicator of iron deficiency. Iron is stored intracellularly, mainly in hepatocytes, as ferritin. In the presence of infect