Background: Iron overload in thalassemia major patients required regular blood transfusions due to ineffective erythropoiesis. Iron overload is a common chronic complication caused by increased iron absorption. Iron in the body will bind to ferritin. As the main iron storage in the body is in the liver, the iron overload will cause liver damage that reflects in high Serum Glutamic Oxaloacetic Transaminase (SGOT) and Serum Glutamic Pyruvic Transaminase (SGPT) level. This study will describe the relationship between serum ferritin and Serum SGOT and SGPT level so that it can be used as a marker of high iron levels in the body. Methods: This was an observational analytic study with a cross-sectional design which carried out in the Hemato-Oncology Division of H. Adam Malik Hospital Medan November ? December 2019. A total of 30 thalassemia major patients who were fulfilled the inclusions criteria were taken by consecutive sampling and were tested for serum ferritin, SGOT, and SGPT level. Results: Of the 30 samples, 43.3% of the subjects were male and 46.7% of the children suffering from malnutrition. The median number of transfusions was 93 times (40 - 202), the mean serum ferritin level was 1422 mcg / L (285 - 3441), the mean SGOT level was 35 U / L (11 - 167), and the mean SGPT level was 28 U / L (6 - 268). The relationship between the number of transfusions and ferritin levels, SGOT and SGPT level were r 0.102; p: 0.592, r 0.162; p: 0.932, r 0.134; p 0.481. In addition, the relationship between serum ferritin levels and SGOT and SGPT were r 0.285; p 0.127, r 0.274; p 0.142, respectively. Conclusion: There was no relationship between serum ferritin and liver function in thalassemia major.

thalassemia major

ferritin serum

SGOT

SGPT