title: Diagnostic use of serum ferritin levels to differentiate infectious and noninfectious diseases in patients with fever of unknown origin.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In this study, we determined whether serum ferritin levels could be used to differentiate between fever of unknown origin (FUO) caused by infectious and noninfectious diseases.
  
  
  METHODS
  FUO patients were hospitalized at Chonnam National University Hospital between January, 2005 and December, 2011. According to the final diagnoses, five causes were identified, including infectious diseases, hematologic diseases, noninfectious inflammatory diseases, miscellaneous and undiagnosed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 77 patients, 11 were caused by infectious diseases, 13 by hematologic diseases, 20 by noninfectious inflammatory diseases, 8 by miscellaneous diseases, and 25 were undiagnosed. The median serum ferritin levels in infectious diseases was lower than those in hematologic diseases and (median (interquartile range) of 282.4 (149.0-951.8) ng/mL for the infectious disease group, 1818.2 (485.4-4789.5) ng/mL for the hematologic disease group, and 563.7 (399.6-1927.2) ng/mL for the noninfectious inflammatory disease group, p=0.048, Kruskal-Wallis test). By comparison using the Mann-Whitney test, statistically significant differences were found only between the infectious disease and hematologic disease groups (p=0.049) and between the infectious disease and groups (p=0.04).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An optimal cutoff value of serum ferritin levels to predict FUO caused by a noninfectious disease (hematologic diseases, noninfectious inflammatory diseases) was established as 561 ng/mL.
authors: Department of Infectious Disease, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwang Ju, Korea.
authors: Seong Eun
authors: SE
authors: Kim
authors: Uh Jin
authors: UJ
authors: Kim
authors: Mi Ok
authors: MO
authors: Jang
authors: Seung Ji
authors: SJ
authors: Kang
authors: Hee Chang
authors: HC
authors: Jang
authors: Sook In
authors: SI
authors: Jung
authors: Shin Seok
authors: SS
authors: Lee
authors: Kyung Hwa
authors: KH
authors: Park
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood*; D005335:Fever of Unknown Origin / Q000150:complications*; D006402:Hematologic Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012372:ROC Curve; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D005293:Ferritins