Prognostic importance of the hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet (HALP) score in patients with acute pulmonary embolism

Objective: To investigate the prognostic value of the hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet (HALP) score in acute pulmonary embolism (APE). Methods: We retrospectively evaluated patients aged 18 years and over who were diagnosed with APE by computed tomography pulmonary angiography at the emergency department (ED) between January 2019 and January 2023. The patients' clinical and demographic data were evaluated, and their simplified pulmonary embolism severity index values were calculated. The HALP score was obtained using the first blood sample measured after the patients were admitted to the ED. The HALP score was calculated according to the formula: HALP = hemoglobin x albumin x lymphocytes / platelets Results: The in -hospital mortality rate was 19.1% in 277 patients with APE included in the study. The HALP score of the patients who died was significantly lower than the HALP score of those who survived ( p <0.001). The cut-off value of the HALP score on the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for in -hospital mortality was 3.21 (sensitivity: 81.13%; specificity: 84.37%; area under the ROC curve [AUC]: 0.879, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.827-0.930, p <0.001). A logistic regression analysis was performed based on these cut-off values, and the multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the HALP score (odds ratio: 0.24, 95% CI: 0.17-0.96) was an independent indicator of mortality. Conclusion: Our findings showed that the HALP score, which comprises four hematological parameters, can be a valuable biomarker that can be used to predict in -hospital mortality.