Correlation of Serum Ferritin Level with Cardiac Function in β-Thalassemia Major

Background: The most important problem in regular transfusion dependent β-thalassemia major is cardiac dysfunction due to iron deposition in it. The aim of this study was to evaluate correlation between serum ferritin levels and cardiac function in β-thalassemia major in Mofid Hospital. Materials and Methods: There were 112 β-thalassemia patients with a mean age of 13.55± 6.12 years, of whom 49 were males and 63 were females. Patients enrolled in this study were divided into two groups group 1 (n=33) who were good users of chelation therapy with ferritin levels of <1500 ng/dl and group 2 (n=79) who were not good users of chelation therapy with ferritin levels more than 1500 ng/dl. Clinical history, physical examination, and laboratory investigations along with serum ferritin levels and echocardiography were assessed for all patients. Results: Overall ferritin levels were 200-8600 ng/dl. Mean ejection fraction was 64.72% and 63.30% in groups 1 and 2, respectively. There was not a significant difference between two groups. Mean fractional shortening were 29.30% and 28.82% in groups 1 and 2, respectively. Again there was not a significant difference. Conclusion: This study has shown that there was no significant correlation between echocardiographic indices and serum ferritin levels in major β-thalassaemia. Thus, other methods should be used to evaluate cardiac iron burden.