Hepatobiliary Dysfunction and Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation Increase Risk of Mortality in Pediatric Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis*

Objectives: Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis poses significant challenges due to limited tools to guide clinical decisions in a population at high risk of death. We sought to assess whether disseminated intravascular coagulation and hepatobiliary dysfunction, significant comorbidities seen in critical care settings, would identify hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis patients with increased risk of mortality. Design: Retrospective chart review. Setting: Single-center PICU. Patients: All patients admitted to a tertiary care children’s hospital diagnosed with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis from 2005 to 2012. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: Forty-three patients were diagnosed with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis with median age of 61 months. The 5-year overall survival was 51% (22/43). Univariate analyses revealed ferritin levels greater than 10,000 (ng/mL), international normalized ratio greater than 1.5, or platelet counts less than 100,000/µL at initiation of dexamethasone were individually associated with mortality. Development of disseminated intravascular coagulation, hepatobiliary dysfunction, or both increased the likelihood of death in hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis patients (relative risk; 95% CI) (6; 1.4–34; p
Source: Pediatric Critical Care Medicine - Category: Pediatrics Tags: Online Clinical Investigations Source Type: research