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Slide 18 of 25

The mild to moderate anemia that often observed in patients with infectious, inflammatory, or neoplastic diseases that persist for more than 1 or 2 months is called anemia of chronic disease. The characteristics feature of this syndrome is the occurrence of hypoferremia in the presence of ample reticuloendothelial iron stores. The anemia of chronic disorders is define by the presence of this unique combination of findings. The anemia of chronic disorders is extremely common, and overall is probably more common than any anemia syndrome other than blood loss with consequent iron deficiency. In a study by cash and Sears, 1986, 52% of anemic patients met laboratory criteria for anemia of chronic disorders. The syndrome is also observed in 27% of outpatients with rheumatoid arthritis and in 58% of new admissions to hospital rheumatology units.