Pre-Liver Transplant Serum Ferritin Level Predicts Mortality

Pre-Liver Transplant Serum Ferritin Level Predicts Mortality
Last Updated: September 16, 2011.

High serum ferritin, low transferrin saturation before transplant ups post-transplant mortality

Elevated serum ferritin concentration in combination with low transferrin saturation prior to liver transplantation is an independent predictor of mortality following transplantation, according to a study published online Sept. 2 in Hepatology.

FRIDAY, Sept. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Elevated serum ferritin (SF) concentration in combination with low transferrin saturation (TFS) prior to liver transplantation (LT) is an independent predictor of mortality following transplantation, according to a study published online Sept. 2 in Hepatology.

Tobias J. Weismüller, M.D., from the Hannover Medical School in Germany, and colleagues investigated whether SF concentration is an independent marker of survival following LT. SF, TFS, and survival were analyzed in two independent cohorts: 328 patients who underwent LT between 2003 and 2008 (follow-up 1,260 days), and 82 patients who underwent LT between 2003 and 2007 (validation cohort, follow-up 1,355 days).

The investigators found that the overall survival one, three, and five years post-LT in patients with SF of 365 µg/L or more prior to LT was 73.3, 64.4 and 61.1 percent, respectively, compared to 81.1, 77.3, and 74.4 percent, respectively, in those with SF less than 365 µg/L prior to LT. This was confirmed in the validation cohort, with overall survival of 55 versus 83.3 percent. An SF of 365 µg/L or more plus TFS less than 55 percent, hepatocellular carcinoma, and survival after LT score were independent risk factors for mortality following LT. In patients with SF of 365 µg/L or more plus TFS less than 55 percent, the overall survival was 54 versus 74.8 percent in the remaining group, and 28.6 versus 72 percent in the validation cohort.
"SF concentration ≥365 µg/L in combination with TFS <55 percent before LT is an independent risk factor for mortality following LT," the authors write.

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