New tools in diagnosis of anemia in rheumatoid arthritis

Aim: Anemia in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is related to the chronic inflammatory nature of the disease. The discovery of iron deficiency in patients with anemia of chronic disease (ACD) is of clinical importance because it can prevent unnecessary prescribing of preparations containing iron.
Data: We determined serum hepcidin levels using ELISA assay in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. We include 60 patients diagnosed with RA in the University Hospital "St. Ivan Rilski", Clinic of Rheumatology for a period 2013 – 2014 year. Activity of the disease was determined by Disease Activity Score calculator for RA. Patients were divided into three groups: RA without anemia; RA with iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and RA with ACD.
Results: We found statistically significant differences in serum hepcidin levels between measured groups: RA without anemia - 15 ± 5.9 μg/L; RA with IDA - 0.7 ± 0.4 μg/L; RA with ACD – 94.6 ± 8.1 μg/L.
Conclusions: We conclude that our results may support the right choice of a therapeutic approach to the iron-deficiency anemia or anemia of chronic inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis.