European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

A SOLUBLE TRANSFERRIN RECEPTOR TEST PERFORMANCE IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF ID AND IDA IN CHILDREN IN CAMEROON

Sylvie D. Agokeng*, Njunda A. Longdoh, Claude B.T. Tayou and Jules C.N.Assob

ABSTRACT

This study was to determine the performance of a soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) test for the diagnosis of iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia in children of 6 to 59 months. A Cross sectional multicentre study including controls was carried out in three hospitals from November 2018 to October 2019. Children of 6 to 59 months were recruited for full blood count and biochemistry tests, namely the C - reactive protein agglutination test, Ferritin and soluble transferrin receptor tests using Enzyme Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assays. Authorization was obtained from the Cameroonian national Ethical Committee and data analysis done using Statistical Package for Social sciences 21.0. Among the 383 children recruited, 288 (75.2%) had a high sTfR level, among them, those with anaemia were 160 (41.8%). Children with low Ferritin had either normal; 11 (3.8%) or high sTfR 5 (1.4%). Specificity and accuracy of sTfR in iron deficiency anaemia diagnosis were 25 and 27.2% at Ferritin cut-off value of 30μg/L. Pearson’s and Spearman’s correlations showed that sTfR and Ferritin levels were not associated with 0.08 and 0.047 correlation coefficients respectively. The calculation of sTfR index showed an increased specificity of the test for the diagnosis of Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia. Soluble transferrin receptor as a new biomarker should be considered mostly for screening of iron deficiency anaemia, as the sensitivity was relatively high with regard to the specificity. In Cameroon the use of this new biomarker should be deeply evaluated for a good use in the future.

Keywords: sTfR, sensitivity, specificity, Iron deficiency anaemia, children.