Correlation between malondialdehyde levels, ferritin levels, and transfusion duration in transfusion-dependent pediatric thalassemia patients

Thalassemia is a genetic disorder that causes chronic anemia and requires regular blood transfusion therapy.Indonesia is one of the countries with the highest thalassemia traits; there are 10,531 thalassemia patients, and it is estimated 2,500 newborns experience thalassaemia.Long-term transfusions can cause increase iron levels in the body's, which is characterized by increased serum ferritin levels.Excess iron forms Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), which damages the lipid membrane causing cell damage.One of the ROS products is malondialdehyde, which is produced by secondary lipid peroxidation, and is a biomarker for examining oxidative stress in thalassemia.Purpose this study analysed the relationship between malondialdehyde and ferritin levels with transfusion duration in transfusion-dependent pediatric thalassaemia patients.Methods: a cross-sectional design involved 34 transfusion-dependent pediatric thalassemia patients at Dr. Soetomo Surabaya Hospital in July-August 2025.The research variables included malondialdehyde, ferritin, and how long they had undergone blood transfusions.Measurement of malondialdehyde levels using the HPLC method, ferritin examination using the CMIA method, and length of transfusion using survey and questionnaire methods.Data analysis was carried out by Spearman correlation test (p