Veterinary student Laboratory of Veterinary Internal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Chungbuk National University cheongju, Ch'ungch'ong-bukto, Republic of Korea
Abstract: Background Meningoencephalitis of unknown etiology (MUE) is a common inflammatory condition of the CNS in dogs, with high mortality. The hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet (HALP) score is a novel prognostic tool for predicting short-term mortality in human diseases. However, its utility in MUE dogs remains unexplored. Objectives To evaluate the utility of the HALP score as a predictor of short-term mortality in MUE dogs. Animals Thirty-six dogs diagnosed with MUE. Methods Retrospective study. Medical records were reviewed to confirm the diagnosis of MUE and determine HALP scores. Results The HALP score was significantly higher in the survival group compared to the non-survival group for both three-month (P = 0.0025) and one-year mortality (P = 0.0004). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the HALP score for predicting mortality was 0.7906 for three-month and 0.8016 for one-year mortality. An optimal cut-off of the HALP score 12.25 had 50.00% sensitivity and 95.00% specificity for predicting three-month mortality. An optimal cut-off of the HALP score 34.33 had 66.67% sensitivity and 95.24% specificity for predicting one-year mortality. Dogs with HALP score ≤12.25 had a shorter median survival time (MST) of 31 days, compared to 283 days for those with HALP score >12.25 (P = 0.0007). Similarly, dogs with a HALP score ≤34.33 had a shorter MST of 67.5 days, compared to 971 days for those with HALP scores >34.33 (P = 0.0030). Conclusions and Clinical Importance The HALP score could be a useful predictor of short-term mortality in MUE dogs.
