Prognostic value of novel neutrophil-to-hemoglobin and lymphocyte score in patients with acute myocardial infarction

Abstract

We developed and assessed whether a novel neutrophil-to-hemoglobin and lymphocyte (NHL) score would improve the ability to predict clinical outcome compared with neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We examined 13,072 AMI patients from the Korean AMI Registry–National Institute of Health database. NHL score was calculated as follows: NHL score (U) = N/(Hb × L), where N, Hb, and L are baseline blood neutrophil, hemoglobin, and lymphocyte count. The primary outcome was the occurrence of major adverse cerebrocardiovascular events (MACCEs) at 2 years. The NLR, SII, and NHL score were independent predictors of 2-year MACCEs. The area under the curve of the NHL score (0.637) for predicting 2-year MACCEs was significantly higher compared with those of SII (0.589) and NLR (0.607). The NHL score significantly improved the reclassification and integrated discrimination compared with NLR ( p < 0.0001) and SII ( p < 0.0001). A high NHL score (≥ 0.35 U) was an independent predictor of 2-year MACCEs (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.41; 95% confidence interval, 1.29–1.55; p < 0.001). The NHL score could be a novel model for predicting long-term MACCEs in patients with AMI.