Respiratory function in iron deficiency anaemia before and after treatment.

The present studies concern the basic ventilatory indices, the arterial blood gases, the indices of the acid-base balance and the indices of the alveolar-capillary diffusion (DLCO, SS, Dm, theta Vc) in anemia before and after treatment. Substantial changes are recorded after treatment mainly in DLCO, SS and theta Vc. These changes are predominantly due to changes in the concentration of Hb. An evaluation of both methods for the standardization of DLCO at 14,6 g Hb/100 ml blood is also presented.