Abstract
BackgroundAn increase in serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity is commonly taken to support the presumptive diagnosis of some lung diseases and a variety of extrapulmonary disorders, but the role of LDH as an early prognostic factor in detecting outcome in patients with community acquired pneumonia (CAP) was not well studied before.AimTo assess the prognostic value of LDH and other laboratory markers [C-reactive protein (CRP), serum albumin, and neutrophil percentage] in patients with CAP.Patients and methodsWe compared levels of LDH and other laboratory markers (CRP, serum albumin, and neutrophil percentage) with each other and with CURB65 score, length of hospital stay, and worse outcomes (ICU admission, mechanical ventilation, and mortality) in 62 (33 males and 29 females) patients with CAP who were admitted to Pulmonology Department, Benha University Hospital, between March 2016 and March 2017 after ethical committee approval.ResultsMost of the patients with worse outcomes showed significant high levels of LDH, CRP, albumin, and neutrophil percentage early on admission.ConclusionLDH was a highly sensitive biomarker for early prediction of worse outcomes in patients with CAP.
Highlights
Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a very common cause for hospital admission, with potentially life-threatening complications, which may occur in the elderly and those with underlying health problems
Patients and methods We compared levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and other laboratory markers (CRP, serum albumin, and neutrophil percentage) with each other and with CURB65 score, length of hospital stay, and worse outcomes (ICU admission, mechanical ventilation, and mortality) in 62 (33 males and 29 females) patients with community acquired pneumonia (CAP) who were admitted to Pulmonology Department, Benha University Hospital, between March 2016 and March 2017 after ethical committee approval
LDH has been studied in many pulmonary and nonpulmonary diseases, and high level of this marker was used as presumptive diagnosis of many pulmonary diseases, for example, tuberculosis, Table 5 Validity of neutrophil%, lactate dehydrogenase, Creactive protein and serum albumin in predicting worse outcomes
Summary
Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a very common cause for hospital admission, with potentially life-threatening complications, which may occur in the elderly and those with underlying health problems. These complications may include, empyema, lung abscess, acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, and worsening of underlying health problems. To improve the outcomes in the management of CAP, there has recently been a significant attention to the use of evidence-based scoring systems and biological markers to predict treatment failure, justify hospital admission in either acute medical settings or ICU, and to classify the disease severity, which will help in predicting the mortality rate [7]. An increase in serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity is commonly taken to support the presumptive diagnosis of some lung diseases and a variety of extrapulmonary disorders, but the role of LDH as an early prognostic factor in detecting outcome in patients with community acquired pneumonia (CAP) was not well studied before
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