
Significance of Ferritin in
Recurrent Oral Ulceration
14-15
Correspondence
Dr. Sumathi K.,
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Phone: 9884222875, E-mail: doraisaravanan@yahoo.co.in
Background:Ferritin is the storage form of iron. Hence, the sensitive test which can be used for diagnosing iron deficiency anaemia is estimation of ferritin in serum. One of the causative factors of oral ulceration is nutritional deficiency, which includes iron also.
Aim: To study the meaningful association between recurrent oral ulcer and ferritin.
Materials and Methods: Fifty oral ulcer cases which were diagnosed clinically in the E.N.T. Department of Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital and Twenty Five controls were included in this study. Serum ferritin was estimated by doing a particle enhanced turbidimetric immunoassay for both cases and controls.
Results: 66% of cases had decreased ferritin values and 34% had normal values, which was significant.
Conclusion: From this study, it can be concluded that it is mandatory to screen oral ulcer patients for iron deficiency anaemia by estimating serum ferritin and it is also advisable for the patients to have iron supplementation on regular basis, along with diet rich in iron in addition to vitamins.