Certain conditions may contribute to a false positive or false negative diagnosis of anemia.
Causes of a false positive diagnosis of anemia:
(1) specimen collection near an intravenous infusion line
(2) expanded intravascular volume (hemodilution)
(3) iatrogenic (excessive blood testing)
(4) in vitro hemolysis
Causes of a false negative diagnosis ("masking"):
(1) polycythemia (erythrocytosis)
(2) recent transfusion
(3) hemoconcentration
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Specialty: Hematology Oncology, Clinical Laboratory
