Urinary Ferritin Creatinine Ratio as a Potential Biomarker for Lupus Nephritis

Ragab, Usama; El-Hendy, Yasser Abd El-Monem; Amr, Ghada El-Sayed; Awadallah, Esraa Sameh Ibrahim; Abdulsaboor, Ahmed; Noaman, Ahmed

doi:10.21608/ejhm.2022.223606

Urinary Ferritin Creatinine Ratio as a Potential Biomarker for Lupus Nephritis

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

10.21608/ejhm.2022.223606

Abstract

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) can affect multiple systems and major organs, among which lupus nephritis (LN), which is a common major organ manifestation and a main cause of the morbidity and mortality of the disease. In this regard, LN affects 40– 80% of SLE patients and result in chronic kidney disease, which sequentially increases the morbidity and mortality in SLE patients.
Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the value of urinary ferritin/creatinine ratio (UFCR) in diagnosis and evaluation of lupus nephritis.
Patients and Methods: This study was conducted in the Internal Medicine Department, Zagazig University Hospitals. The study included 36 patients complaining of SLE diagnosed according to the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) revised criteria for the classification of SLE. Patients were divided into two equal groups; group (I) included 18 SLE patients without LN (17 of them were females and one was male) with a mean age of 32.33 ± 6.47 years, and group (II) included 18 SLE patients with LN (18 of them were females) with a mean age of 29.28 ± 6.56 years. They were compared to 18 healthy control participants (16 of them were females and two were males) with mean age of 32.28 ± 6.03years. Urinary ferritin creatinine ratio (UFCR) was measured for all of them.
Results: There was a statistical significance increase in urinary ferritin among LN group compared to other groups. UFCR was significantly higher in the LN group than control group. There was a statistically significance positive correlation between UFCR and SLEDAI score, serum ferritin, blood urea and serum creatinine among LN group.
Conclusion: UFCR level can be considered as a potential biomarker for the kidney injury in LN, and it is significantly increased in LN patients.

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