The goal of this cross-sectional observational study is to evaluate the accuracy of serum ferritin and serum hepcidin versus non-invasive scores in the diagnosis of liver fibrosis and iron overload in beta- thalassemia children. Researchers will measure and correlate serum ferritin, hepcidin and hepcidin/ferritin ratio in beta- thalassemia children with liver fibrosis. Researchers will also evaluate the performance of serum ferritin, hepcidin and hepcidin/ferritin ratio, AST to platelet ratio index (APRI) score, and fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) score, for predicting significant fibrosis (\>=F2). Participants will undergo history-taking, clinical examination, laboratory investigations, serum ferritin, serum hepcidin, abdominal ultrasonography, and Fibroscan examination. The APRI, FIB-4, and hepcidin/ferritin ratio will be calculated. The performance of serum ferritin, hepcidin and hepcidin/ferritin ratio for predicting significant fibrosis will be compared versus other non-invasive scores.
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measuring hepcidin level (nanogram/ml) for predicting iron overload
Timeframe: through study completion, an average 6 months
measuring ferritin level (nanogram/ml) for predicting significant fibrosis
Timeframe: through study completion, an average 6 months
measuring hepcidin level (nanogram/ml) for predicting significant fibrosis
Timeframe: through study completion, an average of 6 months