AST/ALT ratio as a predictor of mortality and exacerbations of PM/DM-ILD in 1 year—a retrospective cohort study with 522 cases

OBJECTIVE: To assess the associations between aspartate transaminase/alanine transaminase ratio (DRR) and mortality in patients with polymyositis/dermatomyositis-associated interstitial lung disease (PM/DM-ILD). PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study, which included 522 patients with PM/DM-ILD whose DRR on admission were tested at West China Hospital of Sichuan University during the period from January 1, 2008, to December 31, 2018. Cox regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios for mortality in four predefined DRR strata (≤ 0.91, 0.91–1.26, 1.26–1.73, and > 1.73), after adjusting for age, sex, DRR stratum, diagnosis, overlap syndrome, hemoglobin, platelet count, white blood cell count, the percentage of neutrophils, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, albumin, creatine kinase, uric acid/creatinine ratio, triglycerides, or low-density lipoprotein. RESULTS: Higher DRR (> 1.73) was an independent predictor of 1-year mortality in multivariate Cox regression analysis (hazard ratio 3.423, 95% CI 1.481–7.911, p = .004). Patients with higher DRR more often required the use of mechanical ventilation and readmission for acute exacerbation of PM/DM-ILD at 1-year follow-up. CONCLUSION: Higher DRR on admission for PM/DM-ILD patients are associated with increased mortality, risk of mechanical ventilation, and hospitalization in 1-year follow-up. This low-cost, easy-to-obtain, rapidly measured biomarker may be useful in the identification of high-risk PM/DM-ILD patients that could benefit from intensive management.