Value of serum ferritin in measuring the activation and prognosis in systemic onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis
To explore the correlation of serum ferritin (SF) and systemic onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SOJIA) so as to determine the prognostic values of SF for SOJIA. All samples were collected from 92 juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) patients at Beijing Children's Hospital between February 2005 to September 2012. Their age range was 2-15 years. There were macrophage activation syndrome (MAS, n = 25), polyarticular JIA (n = 33) and oligoarticular JIA (n = 30). And 47 healthy children and another 30 with acute infective diseases were selected as control groups respectively. Blood samples were collected and SF was measured in different disease phases.Other parameters include leucocyte, hemoglobin, platelet, C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate.Statistics of SF level at different groups as well as at different disease phases were performed. The SF level of active phase SOJIA patients was significantly higher (P < 0.01) than that in Other groups. And its level in the active phase of SOJIA was significantly higher than that in patients during the recovery phase. The SF level in patients with MAS was significantly higher than that in those without MAS. Correlated with the course of SOJIA, the level of SF may judge the disease activity and predict the outcomes of SOJIA.