(C30) Hemoglobin, Albumin, Lymphocyte, and Platelet Score as a Predictor of Short-Term Mortality in Canine CHF

Abstract: Background Myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) is the most common heart disease in dogs. Reliable prognostic indicators for predicting survival time in dogs with congestive heart failure (CHF) remain limited. Recently, the hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet (HALP) score has received attention as a novel prognostic indicator for short-term mortality in humans, which has not been studied in veterinary medicine. Hypothesis/Objective This study aimed to evaluate the utility of the HALP score as a prognostic indicator for short-term mortality in dogs with CHF due to MMVD. Animals Fifty-four dogs diagnosed with CHF secondary to MMVD. Methods The HALP score was calculated using the following formula: hemoglobin (g/L) × albumin (g/L) × lymphocytes (/L) / platelets (/L). This study evaluated survival outcomes at six, nine, and twelve months. Results The HALP score was significantly higher in the survival group than in the non-survival group at both six-month and nine-month mortality (p < 0.01). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that the HALP score had good diagnostic accuracy, with area under the curve values exceeding 0.7 for predicting both six-month and nine-month mortality. An optimal cut-off HALP score of 11.13 showed a sensitivity of 44.44% and a specificity of 94.44% for predicting six-month mortality. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated that dogs with higher HALP scores had significantly longer survival times than those with lower scores. Conclusion and Clinical Importance The HALP score could be a valuable prognostic indicator for predicting short-term mortality in dogs diagnosed with CHF due to MMVD.