Magnetic resonance imaging assessment of cardiac and liver iron load in transfusion dependent patients.
BACKGROUND
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an emerging tool to assess organ-specific iron load in patients with transfusion dependent anemia.


OBJECTIVE
We performed MRI T2 star (T2*) assessment in 44 transfusion dependent patients to study the prevalence of cardiac and liver iron overload and the relationship of T2* measurement with various clinical and biochemical parameters.


RESULTS
Mean age of the study subjects was 19.9 years (range 8.8-32.3) and the mean cardiac T2* was 23.4 +/- 13.8 msec. Fifty percent of the subjects had abnormal cardiac T2* (below 20 msec). Cardiac T2* was not found to have any correlation with serum ferritin or liver T2*. Liver T2* value was abnormal in 79% of the subjects and it correlated inversely with both current and 12 months average serum ferritin (r = -0.44, P = 0.003; r = -0.46, P = 0.002). Clinical parameters including age, duration of transfusion, age starting iron chelation therapy, and ratio between transfusion volume and desferrioxamine dosage were not correlated with cardiac and liver T2*.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that iron overload in heart and liver is common in our transfusion dependent patients. Liver T2* has inverse correlation with serum ferritin. Cardiac T2* does not have any correlation with the various clinical and biochemical parameters.
Leung
Alex Wing Kwan
AW
Department of Paediatrics, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR. b108022@mailserv.cuhk.edu.hk
Chu
Winnie Chiu Wing
WC
Lam
Wynnie Wai Man
WW
Lee
Vincent
V
Li
Chi Kong
CK
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000740:Anemia / Q000628:therapy; D001803:Blood Transfusion; D002648:Child; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D019190:Iron Overload / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
D005293:Ferritins