The role of iron and ferritin in pathophysiology and as a laboratory marker in COVID-19

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) emerged in China exponentially and is recognized as a multisystem disease that gradually elevates markers associated with iron metabolism as the infection becomes more intense, becoming a critical factor in the investigation of prognosis. We review the latest scientific findings on the behavior of iron and ferritin in pathophysiology and as laboratory markers in COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019).The findings showed that iron and ferritin play a key role in the pathogenesis of COVID-19, contributing to the worsening of the disease. Therefore, iron dysmetabolism, marked by hyperferritinemia, is associated with inflammatory states in SARS-CoV-2 infection, and ferritin measurement has been shown to be a useful laboratory marker with a clinical and discriminatory potential to define the severity and mortality during COVID-19.

Keywords

• biomarker
• covid-19
• ferritin
• iron
• prognosis
• sars-cov-2