Functional iron deficiency, infection and systemic inflammatory response syndrome in critical illness.

To investigate the prevalence and clinical relevance of functional iron deficiency in the critically ill, we performed a prospective observational study in a university hospital general intensive care unit. We collected patient demographics, severity of illness data, haematological and biochemical variables in 51 consecutive admissions. We recorded episodes of culture-positive infection. Functional iron deficiency (FID), measured by red cell hypochromasia on flow cytometry, was present in 35% of patients at admission to intensive care. FID patients were of similar age, diagnosis, APACHE score, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, haemoglobin, serum B12, folate and ferritin to patients without FID. However, patients with FID had a prolonged intensive care stay compared with non-FID patients (P<0.001) and increased time to hospital discharge (P=0.09). Duration of intensive care stay correlated with severity of FID (r=0.33, P<0.02). Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) was present for longer in those with FID (P<0.02). Overall mortality did not differ between groups. No difference was seen in the incidence of positive cultures between those with FID (9/18 patients) and those without FID (15/33 patients). FID was independently associated only with abnormal white blood cell count (WBC < 4 or > 11 x 10(9) x l(-1)) at admission to ICU, P=0.007, but not with positive cultures. There is a high prevalence of FID in intensive care, associated with an increased duration of stay and duration of SIRS. We have been unable to demonstrate a link with infection, either as a predisposing factor or as an acute response.