Complete Blood Cell Count Parameters Predict Mortality in Patients with Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis
<b>Background:</b> Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) represents a chronic lung disease with an unpredictable clinical course. There is a pressing need for clinically applicable prognostic biomarkers in patients with HP. <b>Methods:</b> This was an observational, retrospective study. We investigated the prognostic potential of complete blood count parameters in treatment-naïve patients diagnosed with HP between 15 December 2010 and 1 October 2023. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis identified the optimal cut-off thresholds for each parameter in terms of mortality prediction. <b>Results:</b> We included 129 patients diagnosed with HP [median age: 68.0 years (95% CI: 65.0 to 69.0), fibrotic HP: <i>n</i> = 85, 65.9%]. Patients with HP and an eosinophil count > 160 cells/μL [ROC curve, area under curve (AUC): 0.61] exhibited increased mortality risk compared to patients with HP and an eosinophil count ≤ 160 cells/μL [Kaplan-Meier, HR: 2.95 (95% CI: 1.36 to 6.42), <i>p</i> = 0.006]. Patients with HP and a monocyte count > 350 cells/μL (ROC curve, AUC: 0.52) had worse survival compared to patients with HP and a monocyte count lower than this threshold [Kaplan-Meier, HR: 2.48 (95% CI: 1.03 to 5.09), <i>p</i> = 0.04]. Patients with HP and an eosinophil-lymphocyte ratio (ELR) > 0.09 (ROC curve, AUC: 0.64) had a higher risk of mortality compared to patients with HP and ELR ≤ 0.09 [Kaplan-Meier, HR: 2.75 (95% CI: 1.3 to 5.78), <i>p</i> = 0.008]. <b>Conclusions:</b> This study demonstrated that eosinophil count, monocyte count, and ELR could be prognostic biomarkers in patients with HP. Further studies aiming to validate the prognostic potential of complete blood count parameters in patients with HP are greatly anticipated.
Authors
- Paschalis Ntolios (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7875-3905)
- Fotios Sampsonas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7796-2959)
- Elisabeth Bendstrup (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4238-6963)
- Evangelia Fouka (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4456-8987)
- Argyrios Tzouvelekis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6295-1384)
- Vasilina Sotiropoulou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2326-7149)
- Athena Gogali (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4321-9446)
- Ουρανία Παπαϊωάννου (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3889-679X)
- Despoina Papakosta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3465-3806)
- Vasilios Tzilas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7030-6166)
- Lykourgos Kolilekas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4420-609X)
- Demosthenes Bouros (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0685-0765)
- Elli Malakounidou
- Νikoletta Ρovina (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0138-5582)
- Panagiota Tsiri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3894-0231)
- Spyridon Papiris
- Paschalis Steiropoulos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7121-6253)
- Κonstantinos Κostikas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0774-3942)
- Effrosyni D. Manali (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1731-7069)
- Matthaios Katsaras (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6312-5458)
- Ioannis P. Tomos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9978-4823)
- Ioannis Christopoulos
- Ιlias Papanikolaou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1391-2925)
- Eva Theohari
Institutions
- Democritus University of Thrace (GR)
- University of Ioannina (GR)
- National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (GR)
- Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (GR)
- General University Hospital of Patras (GR)
- Aarhus University Hospital (DK)
- Corfu General Clinic (GR)
- G. Papanikolaou General Hospital (GR)
- Sotiria General Hospital (GR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Diagnostics
- Published
- 2025-04-18
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics15081038
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Interstitial Lung Diseases and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.52