ABSTRACT
Heatstroke (HS), a severe condition, can develop multiple organ dysfunction syndrome and death. However, at present, no early reliable index exists for risk stratification and prognosis. von Willebrand factor (vWF), a marker of vascular endothelial injury, is a key regulatory target of inflammation and coagulation, which is closely associated with the pathogenesis of HS. vWF was reported as a prognostic marker in several infectious and noninfectious severe illness such as COVID-19, sepsis, and trauma. Although early increased level of vWF is seen in HS, the relationship between vWF and mortality is to be elucidated. Clinical data of patients with HS in a tertiary hospital were recorded and analyzed. It was shown that plasma vWF concentrations at admission were significantly increased in the nonsurvivors (351% ± 105%) compared with survivors (278% ± 104%, p = 0.021). After multivariate logistic regression analysis it was shown that vWF (odds ratio [OR] = 1.010; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.002-1.18; p = 0.017), hemoglobin (Hb) (OR = 0.954; 95% CI, 0.931-0.979; p < 0.001), and hematocrit (HCT) in blood (OR = 0.859; 95% CI, 0.790-0.934; p < 0.001) were independent factors of in-hospital mortality in HS. The nomogram based on vWF and Hb was constructed in patients with HS. The area under curve under the receiver operating characteristic of this prediction model was 0.860 (95% CI, 0.773-0.923) and cutoff was 0.15, with Youden index 0.5840, which were not significantly different to sequential organ failure assessment (p = 0.0644), Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) (p = 0.7976), and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) scores (p = 0.3274). The prediction model that integrated vWF and Hb showed a better predicting efficiency than single variable, and a higher specificity (81.48%) than APACHE II (72.84%) and SIRS (72.84%) scores. In summary, vWF, as an independent risk factor for in-hospital mortality, combined with Hb, could effectively prognosis the mortality in HS patients at early stage.