Ratio of total leukocyte count to C-reactive protein: does it help to differentiate infectious fever from engraftment fever in patients undergoing autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant?
Engraftment fever (EF) is a common complication of autologous HSCT (AHSCT). It is difficult to discern it from infectious fever (IF). We studied the significance of total blood leucocyte count (TLC) to C-reactive protein (CRP) ratio in differentiating EF from IF. 109 consecutive AHSCT patients were retrospectively analysed between March 2011 and August 2013. Breakthrough fever (BF) was defined as new-onset fever preceded by an afebrile period of at least 48 hours. The BF episodes were classified as IF or EF. Infectious fever was diagnosed in case of blood culture positivity, radiological signs of infection, or fever subsiding within 48 hours of changing the antibiotics. Engraftment fever was defined in cases associated with rising leucocyte counts without identifiable infective focus. EF responded well to steroid therapy. Daily TLC and CRP values were obtained from patients’ records. Optimal cut-off value of ratio on day of BF was obtained by plotting ROC curve. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated at this value. Among 109 cases, the breakthrough fever manifested in seventy patients. The median term for BF was day +9. Sixty-two patients had the EF. Median value of TLC/CRP ratio on the day of BF was significantly higher in patients with EF than with IF (0.139 vs 0.038, p=0.013). With ROC analysis, the AUC value was 0.78 (95%CI – 0.66-0.89, p<0.0001). The ROC curve provided the optimal TLC/CRP value of 0.056. Using a ratio >0.056 for EF, the sensitivity and specificity were 63% (95%CI 50-75%) and 100% (95%CI 63-100%) respectively. TLC/CRP ratio >0.056 is highly specific for EF. Prospective studies are warranted to confirm these findings.