Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC) Test

Your healthcare provider may ask you to undergo this test if he/she thinks that your iron levels are abnormal. They may do this test to check your nutrition and diet or to look for conditions that may cause your iron levels to be abnormal, such as liver problems, pregnancy or increased blood loss.

Symptoms of iron deficiency include the following:

• Frequent infections
• Swelling in the tongue
• Delayed mental development in children
• Weakness
• Difficulty to keep up at work or school
• Feeling cold all the time

Symptoms of too much iron are as follows:

• Joint pain
• Feeling tired and weak
• Belly pain

Your healthcare provider may ask you to take this test in the morning after fasting overnight. This is because the iron levels are nearest to the normal value in the morning and decrease as the day progresses. 

Inform your healthcare provider about all vitamins, herbs, supplements and medicines (including over-the-counter drugs and illicit drugs) that you are consuming. Alcohol and drugs such as antibiotics, birth control pills, fluorides, adrenocorticotropic hormone and chloramphenicol may affect the result of this test. Your doctor may ask you to stop taking certain medicines or he/she will change the course of some medicines.

Tell your doctor if you have a hemolytic disease like hemolytic anaemia since you may have a high blood iron content.

Also, women should inform the doctor if they are on their period as their iron count may drop during this time.

The laboratory technician will require a blood sample to perform this test. The sample would be withdrawn from a vein in your arm. You may feel slight discomfort at the site as the needle goes in, it may even turn sore for a while after the test. However, it is nothing to worry about. Talk to your doctor if the discomfort persists.

Results of this test may differ according to an individual’s age, sex, health history and the method used for the test.

Normal results:

The TIBC of a healthy person (both women and men) is in the range of 250-450 mcg/dL (micrograms/decilitre).

Abnormal results:

Higher than the normal TIBC values indicate low iron levels in the body. It may be seen in the following conditions:

• Iron deficiency anaemia and other types of anaemia
• Long-standing infections or diseases
• Blood loss over time
• Last three months of pregnancy

Decreased TIBC levels are seen in the following conditions:

• Haemolytic anaemia, a condition that is caused when the red blood cells are being destroyed quickly
• Inflammation
• A lower-than-normal level of protein in the blood (hypoproteinaemia)
• Iron overload, such as from haemochromatosis
• Nephrotic syndrome (kidney damage)
• Liver diseases
• Malnutrition
• Sickle-cell anaemia, a disease of red blood cells
• Pernicious anaemia, a decrease in red blood cells from the intestines not properly absorbing vitamin B12 

(Read more: Vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms)

Disclaimer: All results must be clinically correlated with the patient’s complaints to make a complete and accurate diagnosis. The above information is provided from a purely educational point of view and is in no way a substitute for medical advice by a qualified doctor.