Hemoconcentration and predictors in Shiga toxin-producing E. coli-hemolytic uremic syndrome (STEC-HUS)

BACKGROUND: Hemoconcentration has been identified as a risk factor for a complicated course in Shiga toxin-producing E. coli-hemolytic uremic syndrome (STEC-HUS). This single-center study assesses hemoconcentration and predictors at presentation in STEC-HUS treated from 2009-2017.

METHODS: Data of 107 pediatric patients with STEC-HUS were analyzed retrospectively. Patients with mild HUS (mHUS, definition: max. serum creatinine < 1.5 mg/dL and no major neurological symptoms) were compared to patients with severe HUS (sHUS, definition: max. serum creatinine ≥ 1.5 mg/dL ± major neurological symptoms). Additionally, predictors of complicated HUS (dialysis ± major neurological symptoms) were analyzed.

RESULTS: Sixteen of one hundred seven (15%) patients had mHUS. Admission of patients with sHUS occurred median 2 days earlier after the onset of symptoms than in patients with mHUS. On admission, patients with subsequent sHUS had significantly higher median hemoglobin (9.5 g/dL (3.6-15.7) vs. 8.5 g/dL (4.2-11.5), p = 0.016) than patients with mHUS. The product of hemoglobin (g/dL) and LDH (U/L) (cutoff value 13,302, sensitivity 78.0%, specificity of 87.5%) was a predictor of severe vs. mild HUS. Creatinine (AUC 0.86, 95% CI 0.79-0.93) and the previously published score hemoglobin (g/dL) + 2 × creatinine (mg/dL) showed a good prediction for development of complicated HUS (AUC 0.87, 95% CI 0.80-0.93).

CONCLUSIONS: At presentation, patients with subsequent severe STEC-HUS had a higher degree of hemoconcentration. This underlines that fluid loss or reduced fluid intake/administration may be a risk factor for severe HUS. The good predictive value of the score hemoglobin (g/dL) + 2 × creatinine (mg/dL) for complicated HUS could be validated in our cohort. A higher resolution version of the Graphical abstract is available as Supplementary Information.