Serum transferrin in patients with schistosomal hepatic fibrosis before and after splenectomy

ABSTRACT

The present work was carried out on 22 patients suffering from schistosomal hepatic fibrosis to estimate the level of serum transferrin before and one month after splenectomy using the radial immunodiffusion technique. The level of this protein revealed a significant reduction before splenectomy which could be attributed to hemodilution and /or increased catabolism. Serum transferrin showed no alteration of significance after splenectomy denoting that factors responsible for its preoperative level were still present and were not affected by the removal of the spleen