Correlation of Transient Elastography With MRI T2* and Serum Ferritin Levels in Children With Transfusion-Dependent Thalassemia

ABSTRACT

Objectives: We investigated the correlation of transient elastography (TE) with MRI R2* values and serum ferritin in patients with transfusion-dependent thalassemia (TDT) Methods: We reviewed hospital records of 59 patients with TDT aged ?8 years without any evidence of chronic liver disease and who had fibroscan within 3 months of MRI T2*, who seen at our center between January, 2014 and December, 2019. Spearman correlation and linear regression analysis were used to evaluate the correlation between TE liver stiffness measurements and R2* MRI values and with serum ferritin. Results: Mean (SD) age of the subjects was 13.0 (3.1) years and body mass index was 16.6 (2.3) kg/m2. Mean liver stiffness measurement, MRI T2*(3T), corresponding MRI R2*(3T), and ferritin values were 6.55 (3.10) kPa, 3.4 (4.6) milliseconds, 616.20 (383.9) Hz, and 2874.69 (1570.7) ng/ mL, respectively. TE measurements correlated with MRI R2* values (r=0.61; P=0.001) and with serum ferritin level (r=0.59, P=0.001). Conclusion: TE is a reliable tool to estimate hepatic iron overload in patients with TDT.