Clinical Correlation Between Inflammatory Markers and Disease Severity in Hematological Disorders
1Dr. Nasir Jamil, 2Dr Tahir Mehmood, 3Mansoor Musa, 4Qamar Abbas, 5Dr Nadia Salam, 6Faiza Maqsood
1MBBS, M.Sc(Physiology), M.Phil(Physiology), M.Sc(Diabetes & Endocrinology)Assistant Professor Liaquat College of Medicine and Dentistry, Darul Sehat Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
2MBBS,M.phil Hematology Abbottabad international medical college Abbottabad
3Agha Khan Hospital Karachi.
4PIMS Islamabad
5Hospital Avicenna Medical and Dental College
6Liaquat Hospital Karachi.
Background:Conditions like leukemia, lymphoma, and hemophilia frequently present with underlying systemic inflammation. Commonly available inflammatory markers—such as CRP, ferritin, IL-6, and NLR—tend to be elevated in these patients. However, their relationship to disease severity has not been well explored, particularly in healthcare settings with limited resources.
Aim:This study aimed to assess how specific inflammatory markers correlate with disease severity in patients diagnosed with various hematological disorders. The analysis combined clinical data from hospital records with insights drawn from recent published research.
Methods:We conducted a cross-sectional study including 50 patients with confirmed diagnoses of AML, ALL, CLL, lymphoma, or hemophilia. Each case was classified as mild, moderate, or severe based on disease-specific clinical criteria. Inflammatory markers—including CRP, ferritin, IL-6, and NLR—were measured at the time of clinical assessment. We used Pearson’s correlation and multivariate regression to examine the relationship between marker levels and disease severity. A review of 15 peer-reviewed studies was also conducted to support the interpretation of findings.
Results:Across all measured markers, higher levels were observed in patients classified with severe disease. IL-6 and ferritin, in particular, demonstrated strong correlations with severity scores (r = 0.72 and r = 0.69, respectively). On multivariate analysis, IL-6 emerged as an independent predictor of clinical severity (p < 0.01). These outcomes aligned closely with previously published findings (1, 4, 5, 6, 11).
ConclusionThe study supports a strong association between inflammatory markers—particularly IL-6 and ferritin—and disease severity in hematologic conditions. These findings suggest that incorporating such biomarkers into routine assessments may improve early risk stratification and guide treatment planning, especially in settings with limited diagnostic resources.
Keywords:Hematological disorders; IL-6; CRP; Ferritin; NLR; Disease severity; Biomarkers; Inflammation.