Serum Ferritin Concentration Predicts Liver Transplantation Mortality

December 22, 2011

Serum ferritin concentration is a widely available parameter used to assess iron homeostasis. It has been described as a marker to identify high-risk patients awaiting liver transplantation, but is also elevated in systemic immune-mediated diseases, metabolic syndrome and in hemodialysis, where it is associated with an inferior prognosis.

Serum ferritin concentration 365 μg/L or more in combination with transferrin saturation less than 55 percent before liver transplantation is an independent risk factor for mortality following liver transplantation, stated doctors in a study in Hepatology. Lower transferrin saturation combined with elevated serum ferritin concentrations indicate that acute-phase mechanisms beyond iron overload may play a prognostic role. Serum ferritin concentration therefore not only predicts pre-liver transplantation mortality, but also death following liver transplantation.

Hepatology 2011: 54(6): 2114–2124