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Economic and laboratory considerations in screening for vitamin B12 deficiency in psychiatric practice
  1. J. Swanson Beck,
  2. Audrey A. Dawson,
  3. J. G. Henderson,
  4. R. W. Strachan
  1. Department of Pathology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen
  2. Department of Medicine, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen
  3. Ross Clinic, and the Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen

    Abstract

    Two alternative methods for detecting vitamin B12 deficiency in a psychiatric population have been compared: the `direct' approach by microbiological assay of serum vitamin B12 levels in all patients, and the `indirect' approach where all patients are first screened for antigastric parietal cell antibodies and thereafter all positive reactors and other `high-risk' patients have serum vitamin B12 assayed. The indirect approach was found to be cheaper.

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