Predictive Value of the Hemoglobin, Albumin, Lymphocyte, and Platelet Score for Pulmonary Infections in Patients With Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy.

[AIMS/BACKGROUND] This study aimed to evaluate the predictive value of the hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet (HALP) score for pulmonary infections in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) undergoing chemotherapy.

[METHODS] A total of 180 NSCLC patients admitted to Anhui Public Health Clinical Center between January 2021 and December 2023 were enrolled. Patients were divided into an infection group (n = 65) and a non-infection group (n = 115) based on the occurrence of pulmonary infection during chemotherapy. Univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with pulmonary infections in NSCLC patients. Pearson correlation analysis was used to examine relationships between variables, and the predictive value of the HALP score was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.

[RESULTS] There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in age, gender, body mass index (BMI), hypertension, NSCLC subtype, serum potassium and calcium levels, pathological stage, total protein, or white blood cell count (WBC) ( > 0.05). However, significant differences were observed for the presence of diabetes, hemoglobin (Hb), albumin (ALB), platelet count (PLT), lymphocyte count (LYM), and HALP score ( < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified diabetes and HALP as independent predictors of pulmonary infections in NSCLC patients during chemotherapy ( < 0.05). ROC analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) for HALP was 0.812 (standard error = 0.031; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.752-0.873; < 0.05), with a Youden index of 0.55. At the optimal cutoff value, the sensitivity and specificity were 89.23% and 66.09%, respectively. Patients with HALP scores <17.89 had a significantly higher incidence of pulmonary infection compared to those with HALP scores ≥17.89 ( < 0.05).

[CONCLUSION] The HALP score is a valuable predictor of pulmonary infections in NSCLC patients undergoing chemotherapy and may aid in early risk stratification.