Soluble transferrin receptor and soluble transferrin receptor/log ferritin index in diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease

Abstract

BackgroundThere is no single reliable marker of iron homeostasis in inflammatory bowel disease. AimsTo determine diagnostic usefulness of soluble transferrin receptor and soluble transferrin receptor/log ferritin index in iron deficiency anemia in children with inflammatory bowel disease. MethodsWe assessed soluble transferrin receptor in serum and calculated soluble transferrin receptor/log ferritin index in 75 children with inflammatory bowel disease. Diagnostic ability to identify iron deficiency anemia was examined by receiver operating characteristic analysis. ResultsStudy group comprised 27 cases of iron deficiency anemia, 6 anemia of chronic disease with iron deficiency, 5 anemia of chronic disease. Soluble transferrin receptor was significantly increased in children with iron deficiency anemia (median: 1.63 μg/ml) compared to non-anemic children (median: 1.02 μg/ml). Soluble transferrin receptor/log ferritin index was significantly higher in iron deficiency anemia (median: 1.76) than in anemia of chronic disease (median: 0.55), anemia of chronic disease with iron deficiency (median: 0.68) or patients without anemia (median: 0.72). Soluble transferrin receptor and its index were not correlated with disease activity or inflammatory markers. Diagnostic power for soluble transferrin receptor/log ferritin index (0.864) was superior to soluble transferrin receptor (0.768) in iron deficiency anemia recognition. ConclusionSoluble transferrin receptor/log ferritin index has better diagnostic utility than soluble transferrin receptor for iron deficiency anemia detection in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease.