Use of reticulocyte cellular indices in the diagnosis and treatment of hematological disorders

Automated counting of reticulocytes has markedly increased the precision and accuracy of this assay compared with the traditional manual counts. In addition, several new reticulocyte parameters are now available to clinicians and pathologists. This review examines the potential role of these parameters in the diagnosis and management of anemias. Reticulocyte maturity can now be assessed based on the staining intensity of reticulocytes, which is proportional to their RNA content. However, the clinical value of the numerical estimate of the immature reticulocyte fraction has not been yet demonstrated. In the bone marrow transplant setting, there is no clear evidence that the use of this index results in improved care of these patients, and many studies have failed to show its superiority compared with the traditional white cell count, especially for autologous transplants. Direct measurement of reticulocyte volume, hemoglobin concentration, and hemoglobin content are now available. Studies have shown that these parameters, and hemoglobin content in particular, allow a real-time assessment of the functional state of the erythroid marrow. In the setting of recombinant human erythropoietin therapy, studies of hemoglobin content have shown that this index allows an early detection of functional iron deficiency. Preliminary studies have also shown that this index may be helpful in the diagnosis of iron deficiency and in the monitoring of iron replacement therapy.