The Role of HALP and Modified-HALP Scores in Predicting Critical Acute Bronchiolitis Patients

Background: HALP and modified-HALP (m-HALP) scores are novel indices combining albumin, hemoglobin, platelets, and lymphocytes, reflecting systemic inflammation and the physiological well-being of an individual. These scores provide information about a patient's prognosis. Objectives: In this study, we examined the prognostic effectiveness of HALP and m-HALP scores in patients with acute bronchiolitis for the first time. Method: This retrospective cross-sectional study, which was conducted at the Department of Pediatrics, Balikesir Ataturk City Hospital, Turkey, between January 2021 and January 2023, focused on children over 2 years of age diagnosed with acute bronchiolitis. Children who did not provide all necessary laboratory tests, were transferred to another center, or had comorbidities were excluded. HALP and m-HALP scores were calculated based on data obtained from patients’ blood samples, including albumin, hemoglobin, platelet, and lymphocyte counts. The primary outcome was defined by the necessity for admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). Secondary outcome measures included the need for intubation and the patients' clinical course. Results: A total of 344 pediatric patients were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 13.17 ± 9.28 months (range: 1 - 24 months). Of the participants, 40.9% were male, and 43.31% required hospitalization in the ICU. Statistically significant differences were observed in albumin, lymphocyte count, NLR, PLR, HALP, and m-HALP values when comparing patients based on service and ICU hospitalization. HALP and m-HALP scores were effective parameters for differentiating the need for ICU admission, the need for intubation, and the severity of bronchiolitis in pediatric patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to assess the diagnostic performance of HALP and m-HALP in predicting the need for ICU hospitalization. The optimal cut-off values were 50.54 and 7645023, respectively, and the area under the curve (AUC) values were 0.605 (95% CI: 0.544 - 0.667) and 0.631 (95% CI: 0.571 - 0.690), respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the HALP score were 0.54 and 0.67, respectively, while the sensitivity and specificity of the m-HALP score were 0.57 and 0.69, respectively. Conclusions: HALP and m-HALP scores are effective parameters for predicting poor prognosis in patients with bronchiolitis and may be useful for clinicians in patient follow-up and prognosis prediction.