Serum ferritin in thalassemia intermedia

Area of Science:

• Hematology
• Pediatric Medicine
• Clinical Biochemistry

Background:

• Thalassemia major management relies on serum ferritin for iron overload monitoring.
• Resource-limited settings face challenges in assessing iron overload.
• Thalassemia intermedia (TI) requires effective iron overload assessment strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficiency and utility of serum ferritin levels in TI patients.
• To determine if serum ferritin can serve as a screening tool for iron overload in TI.
• To explore correlations between serum ferritin and clinical factors in TI.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional observational study of 77 TI patients.
• Fasting blood samples collected in iron-free vials for iron studies.
• Serum ferritin measured using immunometric enzyme immunoassay (Orgentec GmbH kits).

Main Results:

• Mean serum ferritin was 486.54 ± 640.0 ng/ml.
• 41.5% of TI patients had serum ferritin levels ≥500 ng/ml.
• Serum ferritin did not correlate with age, blood transfusion history, or splenectomy status.

Conclusions:

• Serum ferritin is a potentially useful screening and monitoring tool for iron load in TI patients.
• Elevated ferritin levels in TI patients may be influenced by factors beyond blood transfusions.
• Further research into genetic factors (e.g., HFE gene mutations, ferroportin) is warranted to explain ferritin levels in TI.