COVID-19 AS A CONFOUNDER IN A CASE OF HEMOPHAGOCYTIC LYMPHOHISTIOCYTOSIS

ABSTRACT

SESSION TITLE Pulmonary Involvement in Critical Care Case Posters SESSION TYPE Case Report Posters PRESENTED ON 10/17/2022 1215 pm - 0115 pm INTRODUCTION: Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a condition in which the body's natural ability to end an immune or inflammatory response is defective1. COVID-19 also presents with severe inflammation, and like HLH, leads to significantly elevated ferritin2. We present a case that was initially thought to be COVID-19, but the patient was diagnosed with HLH in the setting of S. aureus endocarditis. CASE PRESENTATION A 62-year-old male with a history of atrial fibrillation, mechanical mitral valve on warfarin, type II diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and recently diagnosed COVID-19 presented to the hospital with progressive dyspnea. In the emergency department, he was found to be hypoxemic and in atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response. He had a fever of 39.3°C and his initial laboratory workup revealed hemoglobin of 11.9 g/dL, leukocytes of 5,700, platelets of 83,000, AST 35 U/L, ALT 34 U/L, CRP of 31.89 mg/dL, and ferritin of 1994 ug/L. The patient was admitted and started on dexamethasone 6 mg daily. The following day, the patient's blood work revealed a significant worsening of AST and ALT to 7280 U/L and 3319 U/L, respectively. D-dimer increased to 11861 ng/mL (DDU) and ferritin to 36,470 ug/L. On the third day of admission, his clinical status declined acutely as he became significantly bradycardic, progressing to a cardiac arrest after which he required cardiopulmonary resuscitation, intubation, and was transferred to the intensive care unit. A CT scan obtained revealed hepatomegaly of 22 cm and blood cultures were positive for S. aureus requiring vancomycin treatment. The patient was kept on dexamethasone due to concerns for HLH. Ferritin continued to worsen, reaching 50,749 ug/L. His sCD25 came back positive. Unfortunately, the patient expired on his fifth day of hospitalization after discussing with his family their goals for his care and switching his care to comfort only. DISCUSSION: HLH is a challenging condition since diagnosis is difficult and mortality is high. There are a few methods used to diagnose HLH. Usually, 5 of 8 criteria must be met, which was achieved with this patient. However, often the patient only fulfills 4 of 8 since many criteria are difficult to obtain such as bone marrow biopsy, sCD25, and CXCL9. A useful tool is the H-calculator3. Our patient scored a 180 indicating a 50-75% likelihood of HLH. Assessing the likelihood of disease is important since sCD25 and CXCL9 take time and if the patient is clinically deteriorating treatment should not be delayed. CONCLUSIONS: HLH is catastrophic and rare. Physicians should always have it as a differential diagnosis in patients with severe inflammatory states and elevated ferritins to avoid anchoring bias. If suspicion is high based on clinical evaluation and scores, treatment should not be delayed. Reference #1 Filipovich A, McClain K, Grom A. Histiocytic disorders recent insights into pathophysiology and practical guidelines. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2010;16(1 Suppl)S82-S89. doi10.1016/j.bbmt.2009.11.014 Reference #2 Cheng L, Li H, Li L, et al. Ferritin in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Clin Lab Anal. 2020;34(10)e23618. doi10.1002/jcla.23618 Reference #3 Fardet L, Galicier L, Lambotte O, et al. Development and validation of the HScore, a score for the diagnosis of reactive hemophagocytic syndrome. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2014;66(9)2613-2620. doi10.1002/art.38690 DISCLOSURES No relevant relationships by Areeka Memon No relevant relationships by Carissa Monterroso No relevant relationships by Carson Oprysko No relevant relationships by Eduardo Padrao No relevant relationships by Mouna Penmetsa