Clinical Significance
Iron, Total (REFL) - Serum measurements are useful in the diagnosis of iron deficiency and hemochromatosis.

Preferred Specimen(s)
1 mL serum

Alternative Specimen(s)
Plasma collected in: Sodium heparin (green-top) tube or lithium heparin (green-top) tube

Minimum Volume
0.5 mL

Transport Container
Serum Separator Tube (SST®)

Transport Temperature
Room temperature

Specimen Stability
Room temperature: 6 days
Refrigerated: 7 days
Frozen: 31 days

Reject Criteria
Hemolysis • Anticoagulants other than heparin

Includes
This is a client specific reflex test. Reflex criteria has been pre-defined by the ordering physician. Additional testing will be performed at an additional charge.

Patient Preparation
Samples should be taken in the morning from patients in a fasting state, since iron values decrease by 30% during the course of the day and there can be significant interference from lipemia.

Methodology
Spectrophotometry (SP)

Reference Range(s)
     Male
(mcg/dL)    Female
(mcg/dL)
<1 Month    32-112    29-127
1-11 Months    27-109    25-126
1-3 Years    29-91    25-101
4-19 Years    27-164    27-164
20-29 Years    50-195     
≥30 Years    50-180     
20-49 Years         40-190
≥50 Years         45-160