Evaluation of hepatic iron overload in Chinese children with β-thalassemia major

Patients with β-thalassemia major require long-term blood transfusions, resulting in hepatic iron overload. Thirty-five Chinese children with β-thalassemia major were recruited in the present studies. Hepatic iron overload was evaluated by histological grading. The relationships between hepatic iron overload and both serum biochemical markers and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination were studied. The majority of the patients showed high degrees of hepatic iron overload by histological study. The degree of hepatic iron overload was correlated with serum ferritin (r = .70, P < .01), hyaluronic acid (r = .58, P = .011), and type III precollagen (r = .55, P = .035). Moreover, hepatic iron overload showed a negative correlation with liver to muscle signal intensity ratio (r = -.44, P = .012), and a positive correlation with red marrow area percentage (r = .52, P < .01). These results indicated that hepatic iron overload might be assessed by serum biochemical markers and MRI examination.