Ferritin levels predict severe dengue.

Area of Science:

• Infectious Diseases
• Biomarkers
• Clinical Diagnostics

Background:

• Dengue virus infection poses a significant global health challenge.
• Current diagnostic methods lack the ability to predict disease severity and patient outcomes.
• Identifying reliable biomarkers is crucial for timely clinical management of dengue.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate serum levels of acute-phase proteins (α-1 antitrypsin, ceruloplasmin, ferritin) as potential biomarkers for predicting dengue severity.
• To compare these markers in severe dengue cases versus non-severe dengue and other febrile illnesses.
• To assess the diagnostic efficiency of these proteins in early disease prediction.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 96 patients was studied, divided into dengue-infected (n=48) and other febrile illness (n=48) groups.
• Dengue cases were further stratified into severe (n=13) and non-severe (n=35) subgroups.
• Serum levels of α-1 antitrypsin, ceruloplasmin, and ferritin were measured using immunoassays on admission and at defervescence.
• Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was employed to evaluate predictive accuracy.

Main Results:

• α-1 antitrypsin levels did not significantly differ between groups.
• Ceruloplasmin levels were significantly elevated around defervescence in severe dengue cases.
• Serum ferritin levels showed a consistent increase throughout illness, demonstrating the highest predictive accuracy for severity (90% sensitivity, 91.6% specificity at defervescence).

Conclusions:

• Ferritin emerges as a promising biomarker for early prediction of dengue severity.
• Elevated serum ferritin levels can aid in identifying patients at risk of developing severe dengue.
• Further validation of ferritin as a routine diagnostic marker for dengue severity is warranted.