Managing raised ferritin in primary care

What you need to know -Raised levels of ferritin can be associated with several serious underlying conditions and should be investigated appropriately -Determine whether raised ferritin reflects iron overload or another disease process -Initial tests for investigating raised ferritin in primary care are fasting transferrin saturation, full blood count, liver blood tests, and C reactive protein -Assess patients for organ damage associated with iron overload to determine further investigations, management, and whether the patient needs to be referred to secondary care -Haemochromatosis is a common genetic condition that can cause iron overload, and primary care clinicians can order HFE gene mutation analysis to diagnose the condition