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. 2022 May 30:9:919159.
doi: 10.3389/fmed.2022.919159. eCollection 2022.

Role of Serum Ferritin in Predicting Outcomes of COVID-19 Infection Among Sickle Cell Disease Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Jun Xin Lee  1 , Wei Keong Chieng  2 , Muhammad Irfan Abdul Jalal  3 , Chai Eng Tan  2 , Sie Chong Doris Lau  1
Affiliations

Role of Serum Ferritin in Predicting Outcomes of COVID-19 Infection Among Sickle Cell Disease Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Jun Xin Lee et al. Front Med (Lausanne). .

Abstract

Patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) are at higher risk of getting severe COVID-19 infection. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the role of serum ferritin in predicting ICU admission and mortality among patients with SCD following COVID-19 infection. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, WHO COVID-19 database, ProQuest, and Cochrane Library for articles published between 1st December 2019 to 31st November 2021. Methodological quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal checklists. Eleven articles (7 cohorts and 4 case series) were included in this review. Pooled mean serum ferritin level on admission was 1581.62 ng/mL while pooled proportion of ICU admission and mortality were 0.10 (95% CI 0.06; 0.16, prediction interval 0.04; 0.23, p = 0.29, I 2 = 17%) and 0.07 (95% CI 0.05; 0.11, prediction interval 0.04; 0.12, p = 0.68, I 2 = 0%) respectively. Meta-regression showed that serum ferritin did not predict for both ICU admission (regression coefficient = 0.0001, p = 0.3523) and mortality (regression coefficient = 0.0001, p = 0.4029). Our analyses showed that serum ferritin may not be a useful marker to predict the outcomes of COVID-19 infection among patients with SCD. More data are required to identify a reliable tool to identify patients with SCD who are at risk of getting severe COVID-19 infection.

Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=287792, PROSPERO Registration: CRD42021287792.

Keywords: COVID-19; ICU; ferritin; mortality; sickle cell disease.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of study selection process (flow chart adapted from PRISMA).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plot showing mean serum ferritin (ng/mL) on admission.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Forest plot showing (A) ICU admission and (B) mortality due to COVID-19 infection.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Meta-regression bubble plots for (A) ICU admission and (B) mortality against mean serum ferritin on admission.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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