Ferritin and serum iron levels in adult patients with sickle cell anaemia at Ibadan, Nigeria.

The ferritin and serum iron levels in 100 adult patients with sickle cell anaemia (SCA) and in ten pregnant (SCA) females were measured. All the adult sickle cell anaemia patients had serum ferritin levels ranging between 325 ng/dl and > 1500 ng/dl. These levels are within and above the normal range. The same trend was observed in the pregnant adult females with SCA. However, in the pregnant women, significantly lower ferritin levels than in the non-pregnant women were recorded. There is, therefore, a reduction in ferritin levels in pregnancy. This could be due to the increased iron requirements and demand by the developing foetus. Serum iron was below normal in 30% of the pregnant women, only 6% of all the adult patients had serum iron levels below the normal levels. Given the adequacy of ferritin levels in the patients studied and the very low incidence of below normal serum iron levels, it is concluded that the sickle cell anaemia patients in the area of study have adequate levels of iron and ferritin in their serum. Iron should therefore be given only in proven cases of iron deficiency anaemia.