Hepatic Iron Deposition Quantification in Patients with β-Thalassemia Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Background: Detection and quantification of liver iron overload are significant to initiate treatment and monitoring of iron overload. This study aimed to quantify liver iron deposits in β-thalassemia major patients using MRI T2* and its correlation with age and heart iron deposition. Methods and Results: This retrospective study included 54 records of patients between 5-16 years of age with hepatic iron deposition due to β-thalassemia major. Data were collected from MRI reports in Picture Archiving and Communication Systems-Radiology Information System (PACS-RIS) and serum ferritin (SF) test results obtained from Hospital Information Systems and written into a dedicated datasheet. The information was recorded on a data collection sheet. The datasheet included all the required data, demographic data, lab results, T2* mapping for iron deposition in the liver and heart, and liver measurements. All subjects had high SF (from 1120 to 9850 ng/ml) with an average of 4317.93±2779.9 ng/ml. Age and SF correlated positively (r=0.368, P=0.0006). A negative correlation was observed between SF and liver T2* (r= -0578, P=0.000) (Table 3), whereas between liver T2* and heart T2* correlation had a positive direction (r= 0.329, P=0.015) Conclusion: MRI provides accurate, non-invasive, valid, and repeatable techniques, which are more acceptable to patients for assessing iron load. Furthermore, MRI T2* methods measure iron overload within the target organ precisely.