TY - JOUR
T1 - Ferritin as a marker of severity in COVID-19 patients
T2 - A fatal correlation
AU - Dahan, Shani
AU - Segal, Gad
AU - Katz, Itai
AU - Hellou, Tamer
AU - Tietel, Michal
AU - Bryk, Gabriel
AU - Amital, Howard
AU - Shoenfeld, Yehuda
AU - Dagan, Amir
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Israel Medical Association. All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/8
Y1 - 2020/8
N2 - Background: Ferritin, the cellular protein storage for iron, has emerged as a key molecule in the immune system, orchestrating the cellular defense against inflammation. At the end of 2019, the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) rapidly spread throughout China and other countries around the world, resulting in a viral pandemic. Objectives: To evaluate the correlation between ferritin and disease severity in coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we obtained clinical and laboratory data regarding 39 hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 from two hospitals in Israel. Results: A significant increase in ferritin levels was demonstrated in patients with moderate and severe disease, compared to patients with mild disease (P = 0.006 and 0.005, respectively). Severe patients had significantly higher levels of ferritin (2817.6 ng/ml) than non-severe patients (708.6 ng/ml) P=0.02. Conclusions: In this preliminary cross-sectional study, elevated ferritin levels were shown to correlate with disease severity in 39 patients from Israel with confirmed COVID-19 infection. Our results further strengthen the hypothesis that severe COVID-19 disease might be due to an underlying dysregulated hyperimmune response. In order to identify these patients early and prioritized resources, we believe that all patients with COVID-19 should be screened for hyperferritinemia.
AB - Background: Ferritin, the cellular protein storage for iron, has emerged as a key molecule in the immune system, orchestrating the cellular defense against inflammation. At the end of 2019, the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) rapidly spread throughout China and other countries around the world, resulting in a viral pandemic. Objectives: To evaluate the correlation between ferritin and disease severity in coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we obtained clinical and laboratory data regarding 39 hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 from two hospitals in Israel. Results: A significant increase in ferritin levels was demonstrated in patients with moderate and severe disease, compared to patients with mild disease (P = 0.006 and 0.005, respectively). Severe patients had significantly higher levels of ferritin (2817.6 ng/ml) than non-severe patients (708.6 ng/ml) P=0.02. Conclusions: In this preliminary cross-sectional study, elevated ferritin levels were shown to correlate with disease severity in 39 patients from Israel with confirmed COVID-19 infection. Our results further strengthen the hypothesis that severe COVID-19 disease might be due to an underlying dysregulated hyperimmune response. In order to identify these patients early and prioritized resources, we believe that all patients with COVID-19 should be screened for hyperferritinemia.
KW - Autoimmunity
KW - Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19)
KW - Ferritin
KW - Hyperferritinemic syndrome
KW - Macrophage activating syndrome (MAS)
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85089637778&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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AN - SCOPUS:85089637778
SN - 1565-1088
VL - 22
SP - 429
EP - 434
JO - Israel Medical Association Journal
JF - Israel Medical Association Journal
IS - 8
ER -