Can HALP Score Predict the Prognosis of Patients With Giant Cell Arteritis and Polymyalgia Rheumatica?

The HALP (Hemoglobin, Albumin, Lymphocyte, and Platelet) score has recently gained frequent use in oncology practice as a predictive marker of survival. Giant Cell Arteritis and Polymyalgia Rheumatica are commonly encountered diseases in the elderly population. The present study was designed to evaluate the impact of the HALP score at the time of diagnosis in these patients on the ongoing glucocorticoid (GC) doses during the first year and the mortality rate.

A total of 169 patients who were followed regularly for at least 12 months were included in this retrospective cohort study. The need for additional treatments, and complications (such as infections, malignancies and death) were closely monitored. To investigate the impact of various variables on mortality, we utilized Cox proportional hazards regression models.

Patients in the high-dose GC group had significantly lower baseline HALP scores (26.17 ± 13.66 vs. 32.62 ± 17.57, p = 0.025) and Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI) values (47.94 ± 6.22 vs. 50.61 ± 6.49, p = 0.015) compared to the patients who had discontinued GC therapy and/or were maintained on a dose < 5 mg/day at 1 year. The HALP score had a statistically significant predictive value for both the continuation of ≥ 5 mg/day GC therapy at the first year and mortality during the follow-up. In the multivariate analysis, elevated baseline ESR and the presence of malignancy were independently associated with mortality.

These findings suggest that lower HALP scores may be associated with both prolonged GC dependency and increased risk of death.