Role of Leptin in Febrile Urinary Tract Infection

Abstract

Background: Leptin is a hormone that plays an important role in human health against infections. Some studies have reported that leptin acts as a reactant phase marker in some infectious diseases. The role of leptin in febrile urinary tract infection (UTI) has not been adequately evaluated. Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the role of serum leptin in febrile UTI in children. Methods: Thirty-nine febrile UTI patients were compared with 40 healthy children for the serum leptin level. Serum leptin was measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. The results were compared between the groups. Results: Median (IQR) of serum leptin in the case and control groups was 2 ng/mL and 0.6 ng/mL, respectively. A significant difference was observed between the groups in the serum leptin level (P = 0.001). No significant difference was observed between cystitis and acute pyelonephritis patients in the serum leptin level. The correlation analysis showed no significant association between the serum leptin level and acute-phase reactant markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) (r = -0.13 and P = 0.41; r = -0.15 and P = 0.36, respectively). Conclusions: The present study showed that although serum leptin increases in febrile UTI, this increase is not correlated with C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Also, this marker cannot discriminate between cystitis and acute pyelonephritis.