ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and mean platelet volume (MPV) as laboratory markers to discriminate IBS patients from both healthy controls and patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). METHODS: This case-control study enrolled patients referred to Ayatollah Rouhani Hospital, Endoscopy Department, Babol, Iran, for colonoscopy examination from 2015 to 2017. Fifty IBS patients were selected from among patients who had undergone a normal colonoscopy and showed symptoms matching the Rome III criteria. Fifty healthy participants and 50 IBD patients, matched for sex and age, were also enrolled in this study. Both RDW and MPV were measured and analysed by independent sample t-test and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: While RDW was higher and MPV was lower among IBS patients compared to healthy controls (p = 0.047 and p = 0.001), there were no significant differences in RDW or MPV levels between IBS and IBD patients. The area under the curve of RDW in the discrimination between IBS and IBD was 0.620 (p = 0.039), and the area under the curve of MPV in the discrimination between healthy controls and IBS patients was 0.801 (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Mean platelet volume is potentially a useful laboratory marker for distinguishing between IBS patients and healthy individuals. Red blood cell distribution width should be considered as a potential marker to distinguish among IBS and IBD patients.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Pregnant women take iron supplements in order to prevent iron deficiency anemia which may have undesirable effects for both the mother and fetus. This study aimed to compare the daily and intermittent dose of iron supplementation in blood and iron indices in healthy pregnant women. METHODS: In this clinical trial study, 145 healthy pregnant women were selected with Hb≥11g%. The participants were randomly divided into two groups. Group 1 received daily iron supplement at 50 mg/day and group 2 received an intermittent dose of 3 times per week. Blood samples were assessed for complete blood count (Hb, Hct, RBC), iron, ferritin and zinc at baseline in the first trimester in all participants and the two groups were compared in regard to mean changes from baseline to the end of the study period in the third trimester. This clinical trial was registered in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (www.irct.ir) with registration number ID: 2012082810682N1. RESULTS: The incidence of iron deficiency anemia was 2.7% in both groups. The mean levels of Hb, Hct and RBC in the first trimester were 13.3 g/dl, 39.4% and 4.5 mil/ml(3), respectively. At the end of the study, Hb, Hct, and RBC reduced significantly in both groups compared with baseline values (p<0.05). The difference from baseline in Hb and other blood indices did not differ significantly across the two groups. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that daily or intermittent administration of iron supplement to pregnant women has the same outcome. Regarding the side effects of iron in pregnancy, intermittent method seems preferable to daily intake.
