Clinical Utility
Measurement of zinc protoporphyrin in red cells has been used as a screening test for lead poisoning. and for iron deficiency. There are a number of specific clinical situations in which this measurement has been found to be useful.
Zinc protoporphyrin levels can be elevated as the result of a number of conditions, for instance:
- lead poisoning
- iron deficiency
- sickle cell anemia
- sideroblastic anemia
- anemia of chronic disease
- vanadium exposure
The virtue of ZPP testing as a screen is that all of these conditions can be considered worth discovering.
The fluorescent properties of ZPP in intact red cells allows the ZPP/heme molar ratio to be measured quickly, at low cost, and in a small sample volume.
Read more about this topic: Zinc Protoporphyrin
Famous quotes containing the word utility:
“Moral sensibilities are nowadays at such cross-purposes that to one man a morality is proved by its utility, while to another its utility refutes it.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)