Clinical characteristics of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis at a tertiary university hospital in Bogotá, Colombia

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the clinical characteristics of patients diagnosed with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) at a university hospital in Bogotá, Colombia, during the period from 2012 to 2022. Materials and methods: A descriptive study was conducted on patients with suspected hemophagocytic syndrome, who underwent bone marrow biopsy, and the HLH-2004 criteria and the HScore for Reactive Hemophagocytic Syndrome were retrospectively applied. Results: Twenty-one patients with a diagnosis of HLH were identified. The average age of the patients was 42 years (SD = 16.68) and 71.4% (15/21) were male. Fever was present in 85.7% (18/21), followed by involuntary weight loss in 81% (17/21), and night sweats in 57.1% (12/21). Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection occurred in 57% (12/21) of the study population. Deceased patients had a viral load of 556,320.4 copies (SD: 558,295.12) compared to 128,9124.6 copies (SD: 1,440,545.81) in patients who survived. Conclusion: The majority of patients diagnosed with HLH presented with HIV infection as the main trigger, in addition to being associated with viral opportunistic infections such as cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus. © 2024 Asociacion Colombiana de Infectologia. All rights reserved.