title: Magnetic resonance imaging assessment of cardiac and liver iron load in transfusion dependent patients.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR. b108022@mailserv.cuhk.edu.hk
authors.forename: Alex Wing Kwan
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: Winnie Chiu Wing
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: Wynnie Wai Man
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Chi Kong
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D005293:Ferritins