Spectre étiologique des hyperferritinémies

Abstract: Serum ferritin levels may be increased in many conditions: renal diseases, liver diseases, human immunodeficiency virus infection. The purpose of this study was to assess the aetiological spectrum of high serum ferritin levels in a 1200-bed university hospital, to compare our results with the data already published and to assess a potential association between aetiology and ferritin levels. Patients and methods. – Patients with a serum ferritin level higher than 600 μg/l were retrospectively included between 15 November 2003 and 15 January 2004, and their medical records were reviewed. Results. – Ninety-eight patients (38 women and 60 men; median age: 59,5 years [19–92]) were recruited in departments of hepatology and gastroenterology (22%), haematology (14%) and internal medicine (10%). Diagnosis performed were: non-HIV systemic infections (23,8%), haematological diseases (16,1%), alcoholism (11,2%) and malignancies (9,8%). Dialysed chronic renal failure, liver diseases, haemochromatosis and systemic inflammatory diseases counted for 4.2 to 5.2% of cases. Serum ferritin level lied between 600 and 1000 μg/l for 50 patients, between 1000 and 1500 μg/l for 24, and over 1500 μg/l for 24. There was no significant difference between the three groups as regards the etiological distribution. Discussion. – In our study, chronic renal failure was not a major cause of high ferritin level: this is probably due to the current use of erythropoietin, which has decreased the use of blood transfusions. The two major aetiology of hyperferritinemia were non-HIV infections and malignancies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]