Pre-Conditioning Serum Uric Acid as a Risk Factor for Sinusoidal Obstruction Syndrome of the Liver in Children Undergoing Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

OBJECTIVE: Uric acid (UA), a known danger signal released from injured cells, is a valuable sign of inflammation. We aimed to evaluate the association of serum UA levels before the start of conditioning regimens with the risk of hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS) development after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two hundred and twenty-two children who underwent allogeneic HSCT at the Pediatric BMT Unit of Hacettepe University between 2000 and 2014 were included in this retrospective study. Serum UA levels were measured before conditioning as an indicator of the pre-transplant inflammatory status of the patients. Patients with and without a diagnosis of SOS were compared regarding primary diagnosis, previously described risk factors for SOS, and pre-conditioning serum UA. RESULTS: SOS was diagnosed in 42 patients who had higher pre-conditioning serum UA levels compared to those who did not. Pre-transplant serum creatinine, gamma-glutamyl transferase, bilirubin, ferritin, and C-reactive protein levels did not differ significantly among patients with and without SOS; however, serum albumin was lower in the patients who developed SOS. Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed that a pre-conditioning UA level higher than 3.32 mg/dL was predictive of SOS. When applied to a multivariate model, only pre-conditioning UA and albumin levels remained significant risk factors for SOS (UA: odds ratio [OR], 2.54; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.26-5.12, p=0.009; albumin: OR, 0.45, 95% CI, 0.22-0.95, p=0.037). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that pre-conditioning serum UA is an independent risk factor for SOS, and it might be used as an early predictor of hepatic SOS together with previously described clinical and laboratory parameters.