[Aetiological spectrum of hyperferritinemia].
Serum ferritin levels may be increased in many conditions: renal diseases, liver diseases, human immunodeficiency virus infection. The purpose of this study was to assess the aetiological spectrum of high serum ferritin levels in a 1200-bed university hospital, to compare our results with the data already published and to assess a potential association between aetiology and ferritin levels.


METHODS
Patients with a serum ferritin level higher than 600 microg/l were retrospectively included between 15 November 2003 and 15 January 2004, and their medical records were reviewed.


RESULTS
Ninety-eight patients (38 women and 60 men; median age: 59,5 years [19-92]) were recruited in departments of hepatology and gastroenterology (22%), haematology (14%) and internal medicine (18%). Diagnosis performed were: non-HIV systemic infections (23,8%), haematological diseases (16,1%), alcoholism (11,2%) and malignancies (9,8%). Dialysed chronic renal failure, liver diseases, haemochromatosis and systemic inflammatory diseases counted for 4.2 to 5.2% of cases. Serum ferritin level lied between 600 and 1000 microg/l for 50 patients, between 1000 and 1500 microg/l for 24, and over 1500 microg/l for 24. There was no significant difference between the three groups as regards the etiological distribution.


CONCLUSIONS
In our study, chronic renal failure was not a major cause of high ferritin level: this is probably due to the current use of erythropoietin, which has decreased the use of blood transfusions. The two major aetiology of hyperferritinemia were non-HIV infections and malignancies.
Le Page
L
L
Service de médecine interne, CHU Nord, place Victor-Pauchet, 80000 Amiens, France. lepage.laurence@chu-amiens.fr
Leflon
P
P
Mahévas
M
M
Duhaut
P
P
Smail
A
A
Salle
V
V
Cevallos
R
R
Ducroix
J P
JP
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001796:Blood Protein Disorders / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies
D005293:Ferritins