Introduction. Anemia is a frequent problem in hospitalized geriatric patients, and the anemia of chronic disease (ACD) and iron\r\ndeficiency anemia (IDA) are the 2 most prevalent causes. The aim of the study was to assess the possible role of serum hepcidin in\r\nthe differential diagnosis between ACD and IDA. Methods. We investigated serum hepcidin, iron status, anemia, and C-reactive\r\nprotein in 39 consecutive geriatric patients with ACD and IDA. Serum hepcidin levels were determined using a commercial ELISA\r\nkit (DRG Instruments,Marburg, Germany).We also measured hepcidin in 26 healthy controls. Results. The serum hepcidin levels\r\nwere not significantly higher in the 28 patients with ACDas compared to the 11 patients with IDA. Conclusions. The serum hepcidin\r\nlevels measured using the commercial ELISA kit (DRG) do not appear to increase in older patients with ACD. It should be noted\r\nthat an assay-specific problem could explain our results.
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