correlation between heart and liver iron levels measured by mri t2* and serum ferritin in patients with β-thalassemia major

Background: transfusioninduced iron overload leads to many complications in patients with β-thalassemia major. this study aimed to compare the level of iron stored in the liver and heart measured by mri t2 * with ferritin levels in these patients. materials and methods: this study was done on 52 patients with β-thalassemia major aged 7 to 29 years. serum ferritin level was checked and heart and liver mri t2* operation was performed, then the liver and heart iron level measured by mri t2 * was compared with serum ferritin levels. results: 150180 cc/kg packed cells were received on average. the mean ± sd serum ferritin level was 2644.8±1988.3 ng/ml. the mean ± sd relaxation times in liver and heart mri t2* were 4.39±5.8 and 26.59±10.62 millisecond, respectively. a negative significant correlation was found between serum ferritin levels and liver mri t2* (p<0.05, r= 0.374). however, no statistically significant association was observed between serum ferritin levels and heart mri t2*(p>0.05). conclusion: since there was no correlation between serum ferritin levels and cardiac iron levels, accurate assessment of cardiac iron load using mri t2* is necessary in patients with βthalassemia major. serum ferritin level is reliable for assessing liver iron levels.