Abstract
BACKGROUND: The hemoglobin-albumin-lymphocyte-platelet (HALP) index is a novel biomarker reflecting systemic inflammation and nutritional status which are important for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality. However, the association between HALP and mortality in patients with COVID-19 has yet to be investigated. METHODS: A cohort of COVID-19 Omicron BA.2 infected patients admitted to the Shanghai Fourth People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University from April 12, 2022 to June 17, 2022 was retrospectively analyzed. Laboratory examinations on hospital admission, including hemoglobin, albumin, and lymphocyte and platelet, were collected. The association between baseline HALP and in-hospital poor overall survival (OS) was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curves, Cox regression models, interaction, and stratified analyses. RESULTS: A total of 2147 patients with COVID-19 Omicron BA.2 infection were included in the final analyses, and mortality in the hospital was 2.65%. Multivariate analysis indicated that low HALP index was independently associated with in-hospital mortality of COVID-19 patients [hazard ratio (HR) = 2.08; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.17-3.73]. Subgroup analysis demonstrated that low HALP index was an independent risk factor for in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients with age ≥70 (HR = 2.22, CI = 1.18-4.15) and severe cases (HR = 2.09, CI = 1.13-3.86). CONCLUSION: HALP index is independently related to in-hospital poor OS for COVID-19 Omicron BA.2 infected patients, especially for age ≥70 and severe cases. HALP index on hospital admission is a useful candidate biomarker for identifying high risk of mortality in COVID-19 Omicron BA.2 infected patients.