A STUDY ON SERUM IRON, TRANSFERRIN AND FERRITIN LEVELS IN NEPHROTIC SYNDROME PATIENTS AT HUE UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE AND PHARMACY HOSPITAL

Background: The prolonged and excessive loss of protein through urine in nephrotic syndrome patients decreases blood protein and leads to other changes such as dyslipidemia, disorders of blood components, hematopoiesis…., if the blood albumin level decreases continuously, the more obvious these disorders, the serum iron, transferrin and ferritin levels will be changing. The aim of the study was to determine the concentrations of serum iron, transferrin, ferritin in nephrotic syndrome patients and the relation between these parameters. Materials and methods: Descriptive cross-sectional studies of 68 patients with the diagnosis of nephrotic syndrome and without renal failure. Results: The mean concentration of serum iron was 8.9 μmol/L, with the low level was 30.9%. While the serum transferrin which was lower than normal was 100% and the mean concentration was 0.68 mmol/L. The mean concentration of serum ferritin was 610.3 pmol/L, and its high level was 67.6%. Conclusions: Concentration of serum ferritin was elevated and inversely correlated with serum iron and transferrin concentrations. Key words: iron, transferrin, ferritin, nephrotic syndrome