Skip to main content

Is it useful to measure serum ferritin level in systemic lupus erythematosus patients?

مؤلف البحث
Nada M Gamal, Tayseer M Khedr, Nadia M Ismail, Heba Ramadan, Eman R Badawy
تاريخ البحث
المشارك في البحث
الناشر
Elsevier
عدد البحث
42
سنة البحث
2020
صفحات البحث
17-21
ملخص البحث

Background

Serum ferritin is elevated due to various conditions as inflammation and malignancy and could be up regulated in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Aim of work

To evaluate serum ferritin level in SLE patients and correlate it with different clinical and laboratory parameters as well as disease activity.

Patients and methods

The study was carried out on 46 SLE patients and 20 matched controls. SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) was assessed and patients subdivided into severe (SLEDAI ≥ 11) and mild to moderate (SLEDAI < 11) activity. Serum ferritin, iron and total iron binding capacity (TIBC) levels were assessed.

Results

They were 40 females and 6 males with a mean age of 36.7 ± 10.3 years and disease duration of 4.9 ± 2.3 years. Serum ferritin was significantly higher in patients than controls (163.5 ± 27.8 vs. 47.1 ± 10.6 ng/ml, p = 0.009). In patients, serum iron (49.2 ± 4.5 mg/dl) and TIBC (284.2 ± 80.8 mg/dl) were comparable with those in controls. Serum ferritin was significantly higher in patients with severe (220.9 ± 50.7 ng/ml) than those with mild-moderate activity (122.9 ± 29.7 ng/ml; p < 0.001). Serum ferritin was significantly higher in patients with anemia (p < 0.001) and thrombocytopenia (p = 0.03) and lower in those with leucopenia (p < 0.001) compared to those without. Ferritin significantly correlated only with hemoglobin (r = 0.5, p = 0.02), platelet count (r = 0.65, p = 0.03) and inversely with leucocytic count (r = −0.08, p = 0.006).

Conclusion

Serum ferritin is elevated significantly in SLE patients especially those with severe activity. A remarkable difference in serum ferritin levels in patients with hematological manifestations was found making it a potentially useful inflammatory marker for disease activity in patients with blood dyscrasia.