The anaemia of chronic disorders

Abstract

Summary: Chronic disease can cause anaemia in a number of ways, such as poor nutrition, chronic blood loss and as a result of drug therapy. Leaving aside these factors, however, there is a specific type of anaemia associated with chronic infection, chronic inflammatory diseases and malignancy. This anaemia is characterised by decreased plasma iron and iron-binding capacity in the presence of normal or increased reticulo-endothelial iron stores, and has been termed the anaemia of chronic disorders (Cartwright and Lee, 1971). Although the anaemia of chronic disorders is one of the most common anaemias encountered in medical practice, its aetiology remains unclear and treatment unsatisfactory.