Rate of decline of ferritin in patients with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis as a prognostic variable for mortality.
ABSTRACT
Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is difficult to diagnose and treat. Highly elevated ferritin is strongly associated with HLH and levels may provide a prognostic marker. A comprehensive review of ferritin data from our patients during treatment was analyzed with respect to mortality. A patient was 17 times more likely to die when percent ferritin decrease was less than 50% as compared to a 96% or greater decrease as indicated with multivariate logistic modeling. Higher maximum ferritin levels in the first 3 weeks also contributed to the odds of death (OR = 5.6; 90% CI = 1.2-24.9). Regular ferritin measurements may be useful predicting outcomes in HLH patients.
New answer by at UCSF Medical Center-Mission Bay (May 25, 2023)
Unfortunately, there is not one specific laboratory test to definitively trend responses to HLH directed therapy. In general, our approach is to obtain baseline inflammatory l...