Clin Pediatr Hematol Oncol.  2016 Oct;23(2):83-89. 10.15264/cpho.2016.23.2.83.

Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) as a Predictive Marker for Prognosis in the Patients with Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP)

• Yang GE
• Lee MJ
• Yoo JH
• Chueh HW

• KMID: 2358363
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.15264/cpho.2016.23.2.83

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is an autoimmune disorder presenting low platelet count in peripheral blood without any other abnormalities in other blood cell lineage. There were many studies that investigated the mechanism of ITP and the factors related to its chronicity, but much remains controversial. Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is considered an indicator representing the severity of acute or chronic inflammation. The aim of this study was to assess whether NLR can predict the outcome of ITP and its chronicity.
METHODS
Patients who were diagnosed as ITP at Dong-A University Hospital between March 2000 and March 2016 were analyzed retrospectively. NLR results and other medical records at diagnosis and after treatment were analyzed and compared between two groups; patients with single episode and chronic ITP group.
RESULTS
Of a total of 67 patients, 39 patients (58.21%) were chronic ITP. Patients with single episode showed low NLR at diagnosis than patients with chronic ITP (1.23±1.38 vs. 1.54±1.15, P=0.42), but NLR after recovery were significantly high (1.58±1.71 vs. 1.31±0.76, P=0.21). However, patients with chronic ITP showed a trend of high NLR at the time of relapse.
CONCLUSION
Chronic ITP patients showed higher NLR at the time of diagnosis compared with the patients with single episode. Also, the NLR at the time of relapse showed higher level compared to those at diagnosis. Relationship between NLR and chronic ITP need to be further studied.

Keyword

Immune thrombocytopenic purpura; Prognostic marker; Neutrophil; Lymphocyte

MeSH Terms

Blood Cells
Diagnosis
Humans
Inflammation
Lymphocytes*
Medical Records
Neutrophils*
Platelet Count
Prognosis*
Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic*
Recurrence
Retrospective Studies