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Significance of Hyperferritinemia in Hospitalized Adults.
Am J Med Sci. 2017 Aug;354(2):152-158
Authors: Schaffner M, Rosenstein L, Ballas Z, Suneja M
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Although high ferritin levels are associated with iron overload, it is known that ferritin is also an acute-phase reactant that may be elevated in conditions associated with acute and chronic inflammation. In addition, an elevated ferritin level is a criterion for the diagnosis of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis/macrophage activation syndrome (HLH/MAS). Therefore, the significance of elevated serum ferritin is often unclear. As HLH/MAS is a medical emergency, prompt diagnosis is important to guide appropriate treatment.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: To study the spectrum of diagnoses associated with elevated serum ferritin, we did a retrospective review of adult patients admitted to our academic medical center from 2008-2012 with serum ferritin levels greater than 2,000ng/mL. The degree of hyperferritinemia was compared to different diagnoses and selected laboratory values.
RESULTS: A total of 333 patients were identified with a serum ferritin level >2,000ng/mL. Hepatocellular injury was the most prevalent diagnosis with n = 126; infection was next with n = 96. Eleven patients were diagnosed with HLH/MAS.
CONCLUSIONS: Elevated ferritin, as an isolated finding, was not a specific marker for the diagnosis of HLH/MAS. However, as a group, HLH/MAS patients had the highest mean and median ferritin values.
PMID: 28864373 [PubMed - in process]