Which of the following presents with microcytic, hypochromic anemia: March 2013 (b, c)

Ans. B i.e. Iron deficiency anemiaIron deficiency anemiaIf the anemia is due to iron deficiency, one of the first abnormal values to be noted on a CBC, as the body's iron stores begin to be depleted, will be a high RBC distribution width, reflecting an increased variability in the size of RBCs.In the course of slowly depleted iron status, an increasing RDW normally appears even before anemia appears.A low MCV often appears next during the course of body iron depletion.It corresponds to a high number of abnormally small red blood cells.A low MCV, a low MCH and/or MCHC, and the appearance of the RBCs on visual examination of a peripheral blood smear narrows the problem to a microcytic anemiaThe blood smear of a patient with iron deficiency shows many hypochromic (pale and relatively colorless) and rather small RBCs, and may also show poikilocytosis (variation in shape) and anisocytosis(variation in size). With more severe iron-deficiency anemia, the peripheral blood smear may show target cells, hypochromic pencil-shaped cells, and occasionally small numbers of nucleated red blood cells.