ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
|
Year : 2021 | Volume
: 34
| Issue : 4 | Page : 1410-1415 |
|
Assessment of hepatic and pancreatic iron overload by magnetic resonance in β-thalassemia major
Rehab M Habib1, Ramy G El-Sayed Ayad2
1 Department of Radiodiagnosis, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University, Menoufia, Egypt 2 Department of Radiodiagnosis, Berkit El-Sabea General Hospital, Menoufia, Egypt
Correspondence Address:
Ramy G El-Sayed Ayad MD, El-Batanoun, Shebin El-Kum, Menoufia Egypt
Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/mmj.mmj_390_20
|
|
Background
Thalassemia is a hereditary hemolytic blood disorder that results in abnormal form or inadequate amounts of one of the two globin chains, which are the building blocks of the hemoglobin structure, thus causing anemia, which is mainly treated by blood transfusions, with resultant increased tissue iron overload, which could be assessed noninvasively by MRI.
Objectives
To evaluate the role of MRI in assessment of pancreatic and hepatic iron overload in patients with β-thalassemia major using transverse relaxation time/gradient-echo imaging sequences, signal intensity ratio, and relaxometry.
Patients and methods
A prospective study included 25 patients with β-thalassemia major recruited from the hematology clinic, Menoufia University, from September 2018 to September 2019.
Results
There is remarkably lower signal intensity ratio of the pancreas and the liver in thalassemic patients, both of which have been also strongly correlated with each other (P = 0.002). Thalassemic patients with abnormal glucose tolerance featured a higher proportion of pancreatic hemosiderosis compared with normoglycemic thalassemic patients (P < 0.001). Splenectomized patients have notably increased hepatic and pancreatic iron overload (P = 0.002) than nonsplenectomized patients. Serum ferritin values were also positively correlated with the levels of both hepatic and pancreatic iron overload, especially accentuated in patients having diabetes/impaired glucose tolerance (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient analysis = 0.772, P > 0.001).
Conclusions
Pancreatic and hepatic hemosiderosis could be reliably detected by transverse relaxation time/gradient-echo MRI in thalassemic patients; this was more pronounced with disturbed glucose tolerance. Moreover, it was found that splenectomy may accelerate parenchymal tissue iron deposition.
|
|
|
|
[FULL TEXT] [PDF]* |
|
|
|