A 22-year-old female who adheres to a vegan diet has been diagnosed with iron-deficiency anemia. Which of the following components of her diagnostic blood work would be most likely to necessitate further investigation?
(Points : 0.4)
Decreased mean corpuscular volume (MCV)
Decreased hemoglobin and hematocrit
Microcytic hypochromic red cells
Decreased erythropoietin levels