Palliative prognostic index and Charlson comorbidity index as predictors of mortality in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia patients who are candidates for palliative care

Objective To establish whether the palliative prognostic index (PPI), the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) or other factors are predictors of survival for patients with ALL undergoing palliative care. Materials and methods Retrospective cohort study of patients diagnosed with ALL undergoing palliative care. We analysed variables at the time of diagnosis (age, WBC count, and risk type), chemotherapy regimens received, PPI, CCI and transfusion requirements at time palliative care was started. Results We studied 32 patients with a mean age of 37 (18–75) years. Fourteen cases had a PPI = 0 (43.8%). 62.5% ( n  = 20) with a CCI > 3 had high odds of dying within 10 years. The median survival was 200 days, unaffected by any of the factors analysed. Discussion Neither PPI, CCI, nor the other studied factors effectively predicted survival. Scales will have to be adapted or new predictive scales devised specifically for patients with ALL.