Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio as a possible indicator of epicardial adipose tissue in patients undergoing hemodialysis

Abstract

IntroductionChronic inflammation is a major risk factor in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is the true visceral fat depot of the heart. The relationship between coronary artery disease and EAT was shown in healthy subjects and ESRD patients. In the present study we aimed to investigate the relationship between EAT and inflammation parameters including neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in hemodialysis (HD) patients.Material and methodsForty-three HD patients (25 females, 18 males; mean age: 64.1 ±11.9 years) receiving HD and 30 healthy subjects (15 females, 15 males; mean age: 59.1 ±10.8 years) were enrolled in the study. Epicardial adipose tissue measurements were performed by echocardiography.ResultsNeutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio levels were significantly higher in HD patients than in the healthy control group. Hemodialysis patients were separated into two groups according to their median value of NLR (group 1, NLR < 3.07 (n = 21) and group 2, NLR ≥ 3.07 (n = 22)). Group 2 patients had significantly higher EAT, C-reactive protein and ferritin levels, while albumin levels were significantly lower in this group. In the bivariate correlation analysis, EAT was positively correlated with NLR (r = 0.600, p < 0.001) and ferritin (r = 0.485, p = 0.001) levels.ConclusionsNeutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio was found to be an independent predictor of EAT in HD patients (odds ratio = 3.178; p = 0.008). We concluded that this relationship might be attributed to increased inflammation in uremic patients.

Could the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio serve as a marker in the diagnosis and prediction of acute appendicitis complications in children?

“…In our study, the optimal NLR cut-off value in distinguishing between patients in Group 1 and patients in Group 2 was ≥ 3.48 and showed a moderate sensitivity (63%) and good specificity (74%). Our results are in agreement with the findings of Sevim et al [20], who found an optimal NLR cutoff value of 3.5 and good sensitivity (76.6%) and low specificity (59.3%) in distinguishing patients with and without AA. Bialas et al [25] investigated the usefulness of the NLR value in the diagnosis of appendicitis in the adult population.…”

Novel hematological biomarkers predict survival in renal cell carcinoma patients treated with nephrectomy

“…Considering the number and the heterogeneity of RCC prognostic factors and the interactions between renal cell carcinoma and immune cells, searching for widely available and reliable inflammatory biomarkers seems essential [7,9]. Up to now, numerous studies have reported that some non-specific indicators derived from complete blood count (CBC) give added prognostic value in the assessment of various diseases, including renal cell carcinoma [10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Amongst the most promising indices that are based on absolute values of circulating inflammatory cells, platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), derived neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (dNLR) and lymphocyte-monocyte ratio (LMR) are being particularly deeply investigated.…”

Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio Is an Independent Predictor of 30-Day Mortality of Intracerebral Hemorrhage Patients: a Validation Cohort Study

“…Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) increases with increasing severity of inflammatory response and has been associated with poor patient outcomes in cancers (Grenader et al 2016 ; Ojerholm et al 2017 ), cardiovascular diseases (Kurtul et al 2016 ; Sari et al 2015 ), ischemic diseases (Aktimur et al 2016 ; Qun et al 2017 ), and a variety of other conditions (Ozcicek et al 2017 ; Pan et al 2017 ; Senturk et al 2016 ). A recent study from this research group (Wang et al 2016 ) showed an association of high NLR with 30-day mortality in ICH patients.…”