Inflammatory Burden Index: Association Between Novel Systemic Inflammatory Biomarkers and Prognosis as Well as in-Hospital Complications of Patients with Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

PURPOSE: Systemic inflammation plays an important role in the pathophysiology and progression of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between a new biomarker, the inflammatory burden index (IBI) and the prognosis as well as in-hospital complications of aSAH patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We analyzed data from patients with aSAH between January 2019 and September 2022 who were included in the LongTEAM (Long-term Prognosis of Emergency Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage) registry study. The IBI was formulated as C-reactive protein × neutrophils/lymphocytes. The unfavorable functional prognosis was assessed by the modified Rankin Scale (mRS). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was conducted to determine the optimal cut-off values for IBI to distinguish the unfavorable functional prognosis. Multivariate logistic regression was applied to investigate the association between IBI and in-hospital complications. Propensity score matching was adjusted for imbalances in baseline characteristics to assess the effect of IBI on prognosis. RESULTS: A total of 408 consecutive patients with aSAH enrolled in the study, of which 235 (57.6%) were female patients and the mean age was 55.28 years old. An IBI equal to 138.03 was identified as the best cut-off threshold to distinguish the unfavorable prognosis at 3 months (area under the curve [AUC] [95% CI] 0.637 [0.568–0.706]). ln IBI was independently associated with 3-month functional prognosis (OR [95% CI] 1.362 [1.148–1.615]; P<0.001), pneumonia (OR [95% CI] 1.427 [1.227–1.659]; P<0.001) and deep venous thrombosis (DVT). (OR [95% CI] 1.326 [1.124–1.564]; P=0.001). After propensity score matching (57:57), an increased proportion of patients with IBI ≥138.03 had a poor functional prognosis at 3 months and in-hospital complications including developed pneumonia and DVT. CONCLUSION: In patients with aSAH, high IBI level at admission was associated with unfavorable functional prognosis as well as pneumonia and deep vein thrombosis.