Role of iron in anaemic critically ill patients: it's time to investigate!

Anaemia is a common problem in critically ill patients admitted to intensive care units. Many factors can be involved in its development, including rapid alterations of iron metabolism. Maintenance of iron homeostasis is a prerequisite for many essential biological processes and a central element for the development of erythroid precursors and mature red blood cells. With the inflammatory process, iron distribution is disturbed, with decreased serum iron levels and increased iron stores. Little information is available on the precise role of alterations of iron metabolism in the development of iron anaemia in critically ill patients.