Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis Hospitalizations in Adults and Its Association With Rheumatologic Diseases

Abstract

Objective: Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rare potentially fatal multisystem inflammatory condition that is often triggered by an underlying medical condition. Epidemiologic data of HLH in adults with rheumatologic diseases are limited. The aim of our study was to characterize HLH hospitalizations in the US adult population with a special focus on patients with concomitant rheumatologic diseases. Methods:We conducted a medical records review of hospitalizations in the United States during 2016 and 2017 with a diagnosis of HLH. Hospitalizations were selected from the National Inpatient Sample. International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes were used to identify rheumatologic diseases. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios (OR adj ) for the association of HLH and rheumatologic diseases.Results: Seven hundred fifty hospitalizations had a principal billing diagnosis of HLH. The median age of our study population was 47.5 years, and males made up 55% of the population. Overall mortality was 17%, and the median length of stay was 12 days. Twenty-five percent of the HLH cases had a concomitant rheumatologic diagnosis. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with nephritis (OR adj , 5.7), SLE without nephritis (OR adj , 9.2), adult-onset Still disease (OR adj , 338.9), and ankylosing spondylitis (OR adj , 10.7) were significantly associated with HLH.Conclusions: This analysis represents the largest sample to date to assess HLH hospitalizations. Our study showed that SLE, adult-onset Still disease, and ankylosing spondylitis were strongly associated with HLH.

Clinical features and prognostic factors of adult patients with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis: a retrospective study of 130 adult patients

“…Autoimmune disease was also one of the potential causes of HLH in our study, mainly adult-onset still disease (AOSD). According to previous research, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was the most common autoimmune diseases associated with HLH in adults, and AOSD was found to be an independent risk factor for the development of HLH [29,30].…”

CMV Induced HLH in a Patient with Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis

“…HLH could be primary or secondary. Primary HLS is triggered by a genetic mutation, and secondary HLH is triggered by external factors including viral infection, malignancies, autoimmune disease, and organ transplant [3]. Viral infections are a well-known cause of secondary HLH.…”

Unusual presentation of systemic lupus erythematosus as hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis in a female patient: A case report

“…Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune condition that is strongly associated with HLH[ 6 ]. In SLE patients, the estimated prevalence of co-occurrence of sHLH has been reported to be 0.9%-4.6%[ 7 , 8 ].…”