Glycosylated Ferritin (Blood)

Home

Counties Manukau

Test Guide

Glycosylated Ferritin (Blood)

Department

Chemical Pathology

Delphic Registration Code (Alpha Code)

GLYF

Test Code (Numeric Code)

4583

Laboratory Handling

Sample Stability

7 days 2-8°C

Associated Tests

Ferritin (Blood)

Synonyms

Ferritin (Glycosylated)

Turnaround Time

3 days

Available routine hours only

Specimen Type

Plasma
Serum

Specimen Requirements

Tube/Container Type:

Preferred

Lithium Heparin PST- Gel (Light Green Cap)

Acceptable

Plain (Red Top)

Preferred Sample Volume (ml)

Paediatric Specimen Requirements

Tube/Container Type:

Preferred

Heparin (Microtainer)

Acceptable

Plain(Microtainer)

Minimum Sample Volume (ml)

0.6

Diagnostic Use

Glycosylated ferritin (GF) can be useful in differentiating causes of high ferritin.

Interpretation

Very low levels (<20%) especially in those with significantly elevated ferritin (>10,000ug/L) can be suggestive of Adult onset Still’s Disease (AOSD), haemophagocytic lymphohistocytosis (HLH) or drug induced hypersensitivity syndrome.
Lower levels of glycosylated ferritin (between 20-55%) can be associated with Hereditary Hyperferritinaemia Cataract Syndrome (HHCS) which is a genetic condition affecting the iron regulation element leading to increased L-ferritin synthesis, unregulated by iron reserve. This condition is not associated with raised transferrin saturation or soluble transferrin receptor.
In patients with hepatocellular injury, metabolic syndrome, renal failure, infections, malignancy and hereditary haemochromatosis, their glycosylated ferritin generally falls within the 20-80% range. Other than to aid the diagnosis of the 2 hereditary conditions HHCS and BH, testing glycosylated ferritin for mild to moderately raised ferritin is usually not helpful in differentiating the above mentioned acquired conditions nor add any advantage over total ferritin level in assessing iron stores in these patients.
Persistently high Glycosylated ferritin (> 90%) level can be found in Benign hyperferritinaemia (BH) which is linked to a genetic variant of the L-ferritin chain. In this condition, the transferrin saturation is also not raised and there is no iron overload nor cataract

Diagnosis of AOSD (while total ferritin may fall, glycoslyated ferritin remains low in both the active and remission phase of ASOD):

Combination of GF ≤ 20% and plasma ferritin more than 5 times upper reference limit had been reported in one study with a sensitivity of43.2% and specificity of 92.9% for AOSD.
Glycosylated ferritin is one of the major criterion in the Fautrel classification. 4 Major criteria OR 3 Major with 2 Minor criteria carries sensitivity of 87% and specificity of 97.8%.

Minor criteria : maculopapular rash; leukocyte > 10,000/mm3 ;

Major criteria : Spiking fever 39°C; Arthalgia, Transient erythema, Pharyngitis, Polymorphonuclear > 80% and Glycosylated ferritin < 20%.

Reference Intervals

50 – 80%

Test Method

Limitations / Interference

Glycosylated ferritin test will NOT be offered unless total ferritin is > 200 µg/L

Last updated: 13/05/2026

Search tests

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z #

Department

Delphic Registration Code (Alpha Code)

Test Code (Numeric Code)

Laboratory Handling

Sample Stability

Associated Tests

Synonyms

Turnaround Time

Specimen Type

Specimen Requirements

Tube/Container Type:

Preferred

Acceptable

Preferred Sample Volume (ml)

Paediatric Specimen Requirements

Tube/Container Type:

Preferred

Acceptable

Minimum Sample Volume (ml)

Additional Referral/Aliquot Information

Diagnostic Use

Interpretation

Reference Intervals

Test Method

Limitations / Interference

Additional Costing Information

Contact Information

Enquiry Form

Search tests

Glycosylated Ferritin (Blood)

Overview

Department

Delphic Registration Code (Alpha Code)

Test Code (Numeric Code)

Laboratory Handling

Sample Stability

Associated Tests

Synonyms

Turnaround Time

Specimen

Specimen Type

Specimen Requirements

Tube/Container Type:

Preferred

Acceptable

Preferred Sample Volume (ml)

Paediatric Specimen Requirements

Tube/Container Type:

Preferred

Acceptable

Minimum Sample Volume (ml)

Referral

Additional Referral/Aliquot Information

Clinical Information/Test Method

Diagnostic Use

Interpretation

Reference Intervals

Test Method

Limitations / Interference

Price

Additional Costing Information

Additional Information

Contact Information

Contact Information

Enquiry Form

Search tests