Abstract
Objective: The role of basophils on sepsis prognosis remains understudied and we aimed to investigate the effects of basophil on sepsis mortality.
Methodology: Initially, a prospective local cohort was conducted to establish primary connection between basophil count and 28-day mortality. In addition, sepsis patients from Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC) database were extracted for validation purposes. Thirdly, 2-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) was applied from UK Biobank cohort to confirm the causative link between basophil and sepsis death. Lastly, prognostic effect of human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) by ameliorating basopenia was assessed utilizing MIMIC data.
Findings: Independent verification from both MIMIC and local cohort revealed basophil count as a protective factor against mortality (HR = 0.35, 95% CI = 0.28 - 0.42; HR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.30–0.52). The MR analysis substantiated the causal relationship between basophil and death (OR=0.776, 95% CI [0.637,0.946], P=0.002). Administration of human G-CSF led to an increase in basophil counts and resulted in a notable decrease in mortality among patients with basopenia (HR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.58 - 0.93).
Conclusion: Basophils significantly contribute to protecting against sepsis mortality, and bolstering basophil numbers may be a feasible strategy in reducing mortality.