Complete Blood Cell Count Parameters Predict Mortality in Patients with Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis.

Area of Science:

• Pulmonary Medicine
• Hematology
• Immunology

Background:

• Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is a chronic lung disease with unpredictable outcomes.
• There is a critical need for reliable prognostic biomarkers in HP patients.
• Complete blood count (CBC) parameters are readily available and could serve as accessible biomarkers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prognostic value of CBC parameters in predicting mortality in treatment-naïve patients with HP.
• To identify specific thresholds for eosinophil count, monocyte count, and eosinophil-lymphocyte ratio (ELR) associated with increased mortality risk.

Main Methods:

• Observational, retrospective study including 129 treatment-naïve HP patients.
• Analysis of CBC parameters including eosinophil count, monocyte count, and ELR.
• Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to determine optimal cut-off values for mortality prediction.

Main Results:

• An elevated eosinophil count (> 160 cells/μL) was associated with a 2.95-fold increased mortality risk (AUC: 0.61).
• A higher monocyte count (> 350 cells/μL) correlated with worse survival (HR: 2.48, p=0.04).
• An increased eosinophil-lymphocyte ratio (ELR > 0.09) indicated a 2.75-fold higher mortality risk (AUC: 0.64).

Conclusions:

• Eosinophil count, monocyte count, and ELR show potential as prognostic biomarkers in HP.
• These CBC parameters could aid in risk stratification and clinical management of HP patients.
• Further validation studies are warranted to confirm the prognostic utility of these CBC parameters in HP.