Role Of Serum Hepcidin as A Diagnostic and Prognostic Marker For Sepsis among Critically ill Patients

Background: In the last decade hepcidin which was previously known to have a significant role in iron metabolism, has gained attention as a possible marker of bacterial sepsis in adults. This research aimed to evaluate the role of hepcidin as a biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis ‎of sepsis among critically ill patients. Methods: In a cohort study, 62 emergency medical patients who were admitted to the ICU within 24 hours and were divided into two groups: those with sepsis (Group A) and those without (Group B). Hepcidin levels were measured using an ELISA kit, and patient assessments included SOFA, SAPS 3, and APACHE II scores. Results: Septic patients had significantly higher hepcidin than the non-septic patients (p<0.001). Hepcidin was a significant diagnostic marker for sepsis with sensitivity (91.89%) and specificity (70.97%) at cutoff point of 2.52 ng/ml with AUC was (0.922). Multivariate regression analysis revealed that alongside traditional sepsis markers, hepcidin and SAPS3 scores were independent predictors of mortality, with ORs of 2.09 (95% CI: 1.31–3.33, p=0.002) and 1.21 (95% CI: 1.04–1.4, p=0.01), respectively. Conclusion: Serum hepcidin, combined with clinical scoring systems, proves to be a reliable diagnostic tool for sepsis and could serve as a predictor of mortality in critically ill septic patients.