ABSTRACT
Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics of secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (sHLH) complicated with capillary leak syndrome (CLS) . Methods: The clinical and laboratory data of 87 sHLH patients, who were treated in our hospital between January 2015 and December 2017, were retrospectively analyzed. Depending on whether they were complicated with CLS, 21 sHLH patients were classified as the CLS-sHLH group, while 66 were classified as the non-CLS-sHLH group. The differences of clinical manifestations, laboratory tests, treatment and prognosis between the two groups were compared. Results: There was no significant difference in the etiology of sHLH between the CLS-sHLH group and the non-CLS-sHLH group (P>0.05) . The neutrophil, fibrinogen and albumin levels in the CLS-sHLH group were lower than those in the non-CLS-sHLH group, while the triacylglycerol levels were higher than those in the non-CLS-sHLH group (P<0.05) . Varying degrees of edema, weight gain, hypotension, hypoproteinemia, oliguria and multiple serous effusions were observed in the CLS-sHLH group. Among them, there were 15 patients that CLS get improved, and the medial time of improvement was 7 (5-14) days. The other 6 patients did not get remission, while they died within 6-30 days. The median overall survival of the CLS-sHLH group was lower than that of the non-CLS-sHLH group (75 days vs not reached, P=0.031) . Conclusions: There may be no correlation between the cause of sHLH and the occurrence of CLS. Severity of neutropenia, fibrinogen and albumin levels, and triglyceride levels may be accompanied for sHLH patients complicated with CLS. Patients with sHLH who complicated with CLS have a poor prognosis. Active treatment of HLH and its primary disease, reasonable fluid replacement and oxygen supply are crucial, which can effectively control disease progression.