correspondence Clinical Utility of Lactate Dehydrogenase in Determining the Severity of Hemolysis in Sickle Cell Anemia Am J Clin Pathol  July 2015;144:173-174 DOI: 10.1309/AJCP3CCVKYYUZLFD
To the Editor I read with great interest the editorial by Jialal and Sokoll.1 The authors beautifully presented an erudite concise summary of the biochemistry, nomenclature, history, and clinical utility of lactate dehydrogenase (LD), also abbreviated, perhaps erroneously, as LDH. They concluded that the clinical utility of LD is limited to confirm hemolysis and serve as a tumor marker. The purpose of this letter is to elaborate on the role of LD in other disorders and in the hemolysis associated with sickle cell anemia (SS). In thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), LD values used to play a major role in its diagnosis and management. Today, however, the diagnosis of TTP and response to therapy depend on the presence of severe deficiency (activity