The predictive value of the HALP score for no-reflow phenomenon and short-term mortality in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVE

ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is a medical emergency demanding immediate intervention, and primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) is the standard of care for this condition. While PCI has proven highly effective, a subset of patients experience the devastating no-reflow phenomenon, and some face increased short-term mortality. The Hemoglobin, Albumin, Lymphocyte, and Platelet (HALP) score, a novel biomarker-based tool, has recently surfaced as an innovative predictor of these adverse outcomes. This study aims to investigate the groundbreaking findings that designate a low HALP score as a robust risk factor for no-reflow and short-term mortality in STEMI patients.

METHODS

1817 consecutive STEMI patients who underwent pPCI were included in this retrospective study, and the patients were divided into two groups according to whether no-reflow developed or not, and the HALP scores of the groups were compared. In addition, short-term mortality was compared between the study groups according to their HALP score values. The predictive ability of the HALP score for no-reflow was evaluated using a receiver operating characteristic curve.

RESULTS

No-reflow developed in 198 (10.1%) of the patients included in the study. HALP score value was found to be significantly lower in the no-reflow group (27 ± 13 vs 47 ± 24,  < 0.001). After multivariable adjustment, the HALP score was an independent predictor of no-reflow (OR, 0.923, 95% CI, 0.910-0.935,  < 0.001). Furthermore, the HALP score showed good discrimination for no-reflow (AUC, 0.771, 95% CI, 0.737-0.805,  < 0.001). In addition, HALP score was determined to be an independent predictor for short-term mortality (HR, 0.955, 95% CI, 0.945-0.966,  < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

HALP score can independently predict the development of no-reflow and short-term mortality in STEMI patients undergoing pPCI.