Research Journal of Medical Sciences
ISSN: Online 1993-6095ISSN: Print 1815-9346
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Correlation of Serum Ferritin Levels with Hepatic T2 MRI for Iron Deposition in Children with Beta Thalassemia
Mrudula Yenepalli, B. Vijaya Lakshmi, V. Spandana, B. Padmini Priya and A.S. Kireeti
Page: 577-582 | Received 29 Oct 2024, Published online: 26 Dec 2024
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Abstract
In Thalassemia, Serum markers of iron overload, serum ferritin and transferring saturation are used to predict iron concentration in the body but have many shortcomings. Liver T2* MRI has been developed to replace Liver biopsy in assessing Liver iron concentration (LIC). This study was conducted to correlate Serum ferritin levels with Iron deposition in the liver by T2‐MRI. This was a Hospital based Cross‐Sectional study conducted on 36 children aged 2‐18 with Beta Thalassemia major for over one year. They were subjected to T2 MRI evaluation of the Liver and also blood samples for Serum ferritin and CBC. The mean age of study participants was 9.69 years. The Mean Serum Ferritin level was 1677.28 mcg/L and the mean of hepatic MRI T2* results in the liver was 3.37ms. Thirteen patients (36.1%) patients had a Liver iron content of >15mg Fe/dry Liver calculated by using R2*at 1.5 T. On average, females have higher MRI T2 relaxation time with a mean difference being 0.94 msec (95% CI: ‐1.5‐3.4, F (1,34)=0.61, P value=0.44). In Our study, 52.2% of male participants, 53.8% of females, 60% of participants with Serum Ferritin >2500 mcg/L and 58.4% of participants with Serum Ferritin 1000‐2500 mcg/L had severe iron deposition in the Liver by T2 MRI. Spearman’s correlation coefficient (rho‐0.341, p‐value‐0.042) showed a moderately positive relation between Serum Ferritin and Liver Iron content. Scatter plots showed a weak negative relationship between Serum ferritin and T2 relaxation time and a weak positive relationship between Serum ferritin and Liver Iron content. Liver T2*MRI as a tool to identify iron deposition in the liver is important to include serum Ferritin. Assessment of Serum Ferritin alone may result in delayed initiation of chelation therapy, which may prolong patient exposure to high iron levels and associated morbidity and mortality risks. Further studies are required with a bigger sample size to give a definite recommendation.
How to cite this article:
Mrudula Yenepalli, B. Vijaya Lakshmi, V. Spandana, B. Padmini Priya and A.S. Kireeti. Correlation of Serum Ferritin Levels with Hepatic T2 MRI for Iron Deposition in Children with Beta Thalassemia.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36478/10.36478/makrjms.2024.12.577.582
URL: https://www.makhillpublications.co/view-article/1815-9346/10.36478/makrjms.2024.12.577.582