Serum ferritin to detect iron deficiency in children below five years of age

• Main Authors: Windy Saufia Apriyanti, Sutaryo Sutaryo, Sri Mulatsih
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Indonesian Pediatric Society Publishing House 2013-06-01
• Series: Paediatrica Indonesiana
• Subjects: iron deficiency, serum ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor
• Online Access: https://paediatricaindonesiana.org/index.php/paediatrica-indonesiana/article/view/272

Background Iron deficiency (ID) anemia impacts the cognitive and motor development of children until the age of 10 years, despite receiving iron therapy. Early det ection of ID is recommended and serum ferritin has been proposed as an alternative indicator for ID det ection. Objective To assess th e diagnostic accuracy of serum ferritin for detecting ID in children below five years of age. Methods T his cross-sectional, diagnostic study was conducted in primary health care centers in Yogyakarta and Bantu!. Hemoglobin (Hb), serum ferritin and soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) levels were performed on children aged 6- 59 months.A sTfR level of 2: 8.2 mg/L was used to define iron deficiency. T he best cutoff point for serum ferritin level use as a diagnostic tool was determined by receiver operator curve. Results T he prevalence ofID was32%. Mean h emoglobin levels in iron deficient and healthy children were 11.7 (SD 0.5) g/dL and 12.2 (SD 0.7) g/dL, respectively. T he sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value (PPV) of serum ferritin ( < 12 ug/L) were 17%, 93%, and 56%, respectively. Using a cut off of <32.4 ug/L, serum ferritin had sensitivity of 62. l % and specificity of 50.8%. Conclusions The diagnostic value of serum fe rritin levels is modestly capable of detecting ID. Therefore, serum ferritin should not be used as an alternative indicator for detecting ID in children below five years of age.