JUST RELEASED: Our new publication on hemoglobin measurement led by the TEAM Working Group for Anemia – raising caution on the use of single-drop capillary blood for anemia assessment.
Summary: Accurate and precise measurement of hemoglobin concentration is critical for reliable estimations of anemia prevalence at the population level. When systematic and/or random error are introduced in hemoglobin measurement, estimates of anemia prevalence might be significantly erroneous and, hence, limit their usefulness. For decades, single-drop capillary blood has been the most common blood source used for the measurement of hemoglobin concentration in surveys, especially in low-income and middle-income countries. In this perspective paper, we highlight historical and emerging evidence that single-drop capillary blood introduces a high degree of random error (variability) to hemoglobin estimates, leading to less reliable estimates of anemia prevalence at the population level.
Click here for the full open-access publication: Advances in Nutrition 2024