Complete Blood Count-Derived Inflammation Indices and Retinal Vein Occlusion: A Case-Control Study

Albumin combined with neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio score and outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndrome treated with percutaneous coronary intervention

BACKGROUND

Evidence about the association between albumin combined with neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio score (ANS) and survival outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is rare. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of ANS in patients with ACS undergoing PCI by propensity score matching (PSM) analysis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients with ACS undergoing PCI were consecutively enrolled in this prospective cohort study from January 2016 to December 2018. The albumin and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio cutoff values for predicting major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) were calculated using receiver operating characteristic curves. Survival analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier estimates, the Cox proportional hazard regression models and PSM. The study endpoint was the occurrence of a MACE, which included all-cause mortality and rehospitalization for severe heart failure during follow-up.

RESULTS

Overall, 1549 patients with adequate specimens were identified and assigned into different groups for comparison. Before and after PSM, the Kaplan-Meier curves showed that a higher ANS value was associated with a higher risk of MACEs (all P  < 0.001). The multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression model showed that the ANS (per 1 score increase) [hazard ratio (HR), 2.016; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.329-3.057; P  = 0.001 vs. HR, 2.166; 95% CI, 1.344-3.492; P  = 0.002] was an independent predictor for MACEs.

CONCLUSION

This study tentatively confirms that ANS may be a valuable clinical indicator to identify high-risk ACS patients after PCI. More high-quality prospective studies are needed in the future.

Complete Blood Cell Count-Derived Inflammation Biomarkers in Patients with Xanthelasma Palpebrarum

Objectives

Xanthelasma palpebrarum (XP) is the most common type of cutaneous xanthoma, characterized by yellowish cutaneous plaques commonly located near the medial canthus of the eyelid. Although dyslipidemia significantly contributes to its development, inflammation is also believed to be another element in the pathogenesis, especially in normolipidemic patients. Recently, cell counts derived from complete blood counts have been identified as indicators of systemic inflammatory conditions and have also been under discussion concerning their relevance to ocular diseases. This study aimed to assess inflammation indices derived from complete blood cell counts (CBC) in XP patients with normal lipid levels.

Methods

Patients who had been referred to the oculoplasty department with the diagnosis of XP between January 2020 and January 2023 and age-matched control subjects were retrospectively reviewed. Patients who had abnormal lipid profiles and systemic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, malignancy, cardiovascular diseases, systemic infections, and inflammatory diseases were not included in the study. CBC parameters were analyzed and compared between the groups.

Results

The study comprised 27 normolipidemic patients with XP and 27 age-matched healthy individuals as the control group. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of age (p=0.143). The mean hemoglobin, neutrophil, monocyte, lymphocyte, platelet, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio, systemic immune-inflammation index, and aggregate index of systemic inflammation values were higher in the patient group, but the differences were not statistically significant (p>0.05). The mean red cell distribution width and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio appeared to be lower in the patient group compared to the control group; however, no significant differences were observed between the two groups (p=0.272, p=0.387, respectively).

Conclusion

This study might offer insights into the pathogenesis of XP, yet numerous questions remain unanswered, awaiting further investigation in future studies.

Evaluation of systemic immune-inflammatory index in patients with wet age-related macular degeneration

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

The systemic immune-inflammatory index is a relatively new parameter and has been shown to increase in inflammatory diseases.

BACKGROUND

The primary aim of this study was to investigate the systemic immune-inflammatory index in patients with wet-type age-related macular degeneration. The secondary aim was to determine the relationship between best-corrected visual acuity, central macular thickness, subfoveal choroidal thickness, systemic immune-inflammatory index, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio.

METHODS

This study retrospectively analysed patients with wet-type age-related macular degeneration between 2018 and 2022. Demographic data and peripheral complete blood count were obtained from the electronic medical record system. The most recent best-corrected visual acuity, central macular thickness, and subfoveal choroidal thickness values (within one month) for complete blood count were obtained from case sheets and the optical coherence tomography digital image database. The systemic immune-inflammatory index, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio were calculated. Age- and sex-matched controls were also generated.

RESULTS

Thirty-three patients (23 males, 10 females) with wet-type age-related macular degeneration and 43 controls (24 males, 19 females) were included. The groups were similar in terms of age and sex (78.0 ± 6.3 vs. 75.6 ± 6.6 years, p = 0.59; p = 0.38 for sex). The systemic immune-inflammatory index was higher in the wet-type age-related macular degeneration group (460.5 vs. 440.4); however, this difference was not statistically significant. When the correlations between the systemic immune-inflammatory index, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, best-corrected visual acuity (logMAR), central macular thickness, and subfoveal choroidal thickness were examined, there was only a moderate positive correlation between best-corrected visual acuity and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (r = 0.46, p = 0.007).

CONCLUSION

There were no differences in the systemic immune-inflammatory index, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio between the wet-type age-related macular degeneration and control groups. There was a positive correlation between the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio and best-corrected visual acuity (logMAR). The systemic immune-inflammatory index was higher in patients with wet-type age-related macular degeneration than in the control group; however, this difference was not statistically significant.

Assessment of systemic inflammatory response index and other inflammatory indicators in retinal vein occlusion

Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is the second most common retinal vascular disease after diabetic retinopathy. The study aimed to evaluate the association and the predictive value of inflammatory indicators in RVO. Sixty patients with RVO and 60 healthy individuals were enrolled in this retrospective study. Inflammatory indicators and other hematological parameters obtained from the peripheral venous sample were analyzed and compared among groups. White blood cell count (P = .003), neutrophil (P < .001), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (P < .001), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) (P < .001), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) (P = .014), systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) (P < .001), and systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI) (P < .001) were significantly higher; the lymphocyte count (P < .001) was significantly lower in patients with RVO. According to receiver operating characteristic analysis, NLR was significant at the good level (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.817, P < .001); SIRI, SII, and MLR were significant at the fair level (AUC = 0.774, P < .001; AUC = 0.733, P < .001, and AUC = 0.724, P < .001, respectively) and PLR (AUC = 0.630, P = .014) was significant at the weak level in terms of RVO prediction. SIRI was superior to other indicators, except NLR, to predict RVO. SIRI, NLR, SII, MLR, and PLR can be used as predictors for identifying the risk of RVO.

Unveiling the predictive capacity of inflammatory and platelet markers for central retinal artery occlusion

OBJECTIVES

Cell counting in peripheral blood samples and their combinations have gained wide usage in clinical research due to their convenient and minimally invasive sampling method. This study aims to evaluate the predictive value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), systemic Immunoinflammatory Index (SII), and systemic Inflammatory Response Index (SIRI), and platelet distribution width (PDW) for the occurrence of non-arteritic Central retinal artery occlusion (NA-CRAO).

METHODS

We included 123 patients diagnosed with NA-CRAO and 120 age-, sex- and blood pressure-matched individuals in this study. All participants underwent a comprehensive ophthalmic assessment. Peripheral blood samples were retrospectively analysed to obtain patients' blood counts and platelet-related indices, and further NLR, SII and SIRI were calculated.

RESULTS

NLR, SII, SIRI, and PDW were all found to be elevated and significantly different in NA-CRAO patients compared to controls (p < 0.05). Notably, elevated NLR and PDW were identified as independent influences on the development of NA-CRAO, with a combined predicted AUC of 0.876.

CONCLUSION

The utilization of NLR and PDW in NA-CRAO prediction may prove to be more effective compared to SII and SIRI.

Characteristics of Hematologic Parameters in Young Patients with Retinal Vein Occlusion

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics of hematologic parameters in young patients with retinal vein occlusion (RVO).

METHODS

All participants underwent routine ocular examinations and blood sample tests. Hematologic parameters obtained from a complete blood count, as well as the calculation of specific inflammatory indices, were compared between young patients with RVO and the control subjects. Correlations between hematologic inflammatory biomarkers and aqueous humor inflammatory cytokines were also investigated.

RESULTS

A total of 64 patients with RVO and 64 age- and gender-matched control subjects were included in this study. The white blood cell count, neutrophil cell count, mean platelet volume (MPV), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), and systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI) in young patients with RVO were significantly higher than in the controls (all p < 0.05). Compared to patients with nonischemic RVO, patients with ischemic RVO had higher NLR, SII, and SIRI values (p = 0.032, p = 0.035, and p = 0.039, respectively). The areas under the receiver operator characteristic curve were 0.725, 0.651, 0.649, and 0.634 for the MPV, NLR, SII, and SIRI, respectively. In addition, a higher NLR was related to higher levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6; p = 0.046, R = 0.463), and a higher SII was related to higher levels of IL-6 (p = 0.034, R = 0.488) and vascular endothelial growth factor (p = 0.020, R = 0.528).

CONCLUSION

The NLR, SII, and SIRI were significantly elevated in young patients with RVO, especially in young patients with ischemic RVO. NLR and SII were positively correlated with IL-6 levels in aqueous humor, which indicated that systemic inflammation plays an important role in the onset of RVO in young patients.

The relation between serum inflammatory marker levels and serous retinal detachment in macular edema secondary to retinal vein occlusion Serum inflammatory marker levels in serous retinal detachment secondary to retinal vein occlusion

PURPOSE

To assess blood-derived inflammatory markers in macular edema (ME) secondary to retinal vein occlusion (RVO) with and without serous retinal detachment (SRD).

MATERIALS-METHODS

Treatment-naive patients with ME secondary to RVO were divided into two groups according to the existence of SRD in optical coherence tomography (OCT) images; group 1 consisted of 60 patients with SRD, and group 2 consisted of 60 patients without SRD. Age and gender-matched 60 patients formed group 3 as healthy controls. Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and systemic inflammation index (SII) were calculated from blood samples to assess the differences in the levels of blood-derived inflammatory markers and the presence of SRD.

RESULTS

The PLR, NLR, and SII values were higher in groups 1 and 2 than in group 3 (p<0.05, each comparison). The NLR and SII values were also significantly elevated in group 1 compared to group 2 (p = 0.000 and p = 0.000, respectively). The optimal cutoff value to estimate SRD in patients with ME secondary to RVO for NLR was 2.08 with 66.7% sensitivity and 65% specificity; for SII was 530.93 with 68.3% sensitivity and specificity.

CONCLUSION

SII is a reliable and cost-effective tool for predicting SRD, an inflammatory OCT biomarker in ME secondary to RVO.