Role of lymphocyte-related immune-inflammatory biomarkers in detecting early progression of Guillain-Barré syndrome

Leveraging machine learning to distinguish between bacterial and viral induced pharyngitis using hematological markers: a retrospective cohort study

Accurate differentiation between bacterial and viral-induced pharyngitis is recognized as essential for personalized treatment and judicious antibiotic use. From a cohort of 693 patients with pharyngitis, data from 197 individuals clearly diagnosed with bacterial or viral infections were meticulously analyzed in this study. By integrating detailed hematological insights with several machine learning algorithms, including Random Forest, Neural Networks, Decision Trees, Support Vector Machine, Naive Bayes, and Lasso Regression, for potential biomarkers were identified, with an emphasis being placed on the diagnostic significance of the Monocyte-to-Lymphocyte Ratio. Distinct inflammatory signatures associated with bacterial infections were spotlighted in this study. An innovation introduced in this research was the adaptation of the high-accuracy Lasso Regression model for the TI-84 calculator, with an AUC (95% CI) of 0.94 (0.925-0.955) being achieved. Using this adaptation, pivotal laboratory parameters can be input on-the-spot and infection probabilities can be computed subsequently. This methodology embodies an improvement in diagnostics, facilitating more effective distinction between bacterial and viral infections while fostering judicious antibiotic use.

The analysis of serum lipids profile in Guillain-Barre syndrome

Background

Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is an immune-mediated inflammatory peripheral neuropathy. This study aimed to conduct a systematic analysis of the serum lipids profile in GBS.

Methods

We measured the serum lipids profile in 85 GBS patients and compared it with that of 85 healthy controls matched for age and sex. Additionally, we analyzed the correlation between lipids and the severity, subtypes, precursor infections, clinical outcomes, clinical symptoms, immunotherapy, and other laboratory markers of GBS.

Results

Compared to the healthy controls, GBS exhibited significantly elevated levels of Apolipoprotein B (APOB), Apolipoprotein C2 (APOC2), Apolipoprotein C3 (APOC3), Apolipoprotein E (APOE), triglycerides (TG), and residual cholesterol (RC). Conversely, Apolipoprotein A1 (APOA1), Apolipoprotein A2 (APOA2), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) were substantially lower in GBS. Severe GBS displayed noticeably higher levels of APOC3 and total cholesterol (TC) compared to those with mild disease. Regarding different clinical outcomes, readmitted GBS demonstrated higher RC expression than those who were not readmitted. Moreover, GBS who tested positive for neuro-virus antibody IGG in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) exhibited heightened expression of APOC3 in comparison to those who tested negative. GBS with cranial nerve damage showed significantly reduced expression of HDL and APOA1 than those without such damage. Additionally, GBS experiencing limb pain demonstrated markedly decreased HDL expression. Patients showed a significant reduction in TC after intravenous immunoglobulin therapy. We observed a significant positive correlation between lipids and inflammatory markers, including TNF-α, IL-1β, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), white blood cells, monocytes, and neutrophils in GBS. Notably, APOA1 exhibited a negative correlation with ESR. Furthermore, our findings suggest a potential association between lipids and the immune status of GBS.

Conclusion

The research demonstrated a strong connection between lipids and the severity, subtypes, clinical outcomes, precursor infections, clinical symptoms, immunotherapy, inflammation, and immune status of GBS. This implies that a low-fat diet or the use of lipid-lowering medications may potentially serve as an approach for managing GBS, offering a fresh viewpoint for clinical treatment of this condition.

The clinical significance of systemic immune-inflammation index and platelet/neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio in Guillain-Barré syndrome

OBJECTIVE

Systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) and platelet/neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (P/NLR) are two novel hematological inflammatory indices, this study invested the role of SII and P/NLR in Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS).

METHODS

A total of 115 GBS patients and 120 healthy controls were enrolled in this retrospective study, SII and P/NLR were calculated from the value of complete blood counts. The Hughes Functional Grading Scale (HFGS) score on admission and at discharge was used to evaluate the severity and short-term outcome of GBS. The level of SII and P/NLR was compared between GBS patients and healthy controls, and the correlation between SII, P/NLR, and GBS's severity as well as poor short-term outcome was analyzed.

RESULTS

Increased SII (p < 0.001) and decreased P/NLR (p < 0.001) were observed in patients with GBS and the level of SII (p = 0.689) and P/NLR (p = 0.879) was not different between GBS subtypes. Patients with severe GBS and poor short-term outcomes had higher levels of SII and lower levels of P/NLR (p < 0.05), SII was positively correlated and P/NLR was negatively correlated with the HFGS score on admission and at discharge (p < 0.05). To predict severe GBS, the optimal cutoff value of SII was 620.87 (AUC0.633, sensitivity 60.8 % and specificity 60.9 %, p = 0.014), the optimal cutoff value of P/NLR was 53.11 (AUC0.635, sensitivity 45.1 %, specificity 82.8 %, p = 0.013). The SII level of 620.87 was found to be optimal predictive cutoff value for the poor short-term outcome of GBS (AUC 0.728, sensitivity of 82.6 %, specificity of 59.8 %, p = 0.001), the P/NLR level of 62.80 was found to be optimal predictive cutoff value for the poor short-term outcome of GBS (AUC 0.669, sensitivity 60.9 %, specificity 71.7 %, p = 0.012). Both SII>620.87 (p = 0.005) and P/NLR<53.11 (p = 0.002) were independent risk factors for severe GBS, and SII>620.87 (p = 0.035) was independently associated with the poor short-term outcome of GBS.

CONCLUSION

SII and P/NLR may be useful biomarkers to reflect GBS patients' severity and short-term outcome.

Comparative Analysis of Hematological and Immunological Parameters in Patients with Primary Sjögren's Syndrome and Peripheral Neuropathy

BACKGROUND

Primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS) is a multisystem disorder of autoimmune etiology, frequently involving peripheral nerves. Early detection of peripheral neuropathy (PN) manifestations might improve prognosis and disease control. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the predictive potential of hematological and immunological parameters associated with PN development in pSS patients.

METHODS

This single-center retrospective study included patients with pSS who were divided into two groups, according to the occurrence of neurological manifestations throughout the follow-up period.

RESULTS

From the total of 121 pSS patients included in the study, 31 (25.61%) developed neurological manifestations (PN+ group) during the follow-up period. At the moment of pSS diagnosis, 80.64% of PN+ patients exhibited increased disease activity, with ESSDAI scores above 14 (p = 0.001), and significantly higher values for VASp score (p = 0.001), with a mean value of 4.90 ± 2.45, compared to 1.27 ± 1.32 in the PN- group. The hematological assessment at the moment of pSS diagnosis revealed that neutrophils and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were significantly higher in the PN+ group (p = 0.001), while lymphocytes, monocytes and monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) were significantly lower (p = 0.025, p = 0.13 and p = 0.003, respectively). Immuno-inflammatory parameters-gammaglobulins, complement fractions C3, C4, total proteins and vitamin D were significantly lower in the PN+ patients' group. In multivariate analysis, the independent predictive character for PN development in pSS patients was confirmed for NLR (95% CI 0.033 to 0.263, p = 0.012), MLR (95% CI -1.289 to -0.194, p = 0.008), gammaglobulins (95% CI -0.426 to -0.088, p < 0.003), complement fraction C4 (95% CI -0.018 to -0.001, p < 0.030) and vitamin D (95% CI -0.017 to -0.003, p < 0.009).

CONCLUSIONS

Readily available and frequently used hematological and immunological markers, such as NLR, MLR, gammaglobulins, C4 and vitamin D could be helpful in predicting the neurological involvement in pSS patients. These biological parameters might become useful tools for clinicians to monitor disease progression and identify potentially severe extraglandular manifestations in pSS patients.

Predicting immunoglobulin resistance in Kawasaki disease: an assessment of neutrophil to lymphocyte platelet ratio

BACKGROUND

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute febrile illness of unknown etiology and predictors for intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) resistance have been widely explored in recent decades. Neutrophil to lymphocyte platelet ratio (NLPR) was reported to be associated with the outcomes in many diseases. However, its relationship with IVIG resistance has not be explored.

METHODS

The medical data of patients diagnosed with KD in Children's Hospital of Soochow University between January 2019 and December 2020 were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed. Patients were trisected into three groups based on NLPR. Logistics regression was used to analyze the association between NLPR and IVIG resistance. Restricted cubic spine was used to exhibit the relationship. Sensitivity analysis and subgroup analysis were also carried out.

RESULTS

A total of 803 patients were included in the present study (61.8% males; median age: 24 months). IVIG resistance occurred in 74 (9.2%) patients. Multivariable-adjusted analyses revealed higher NLPR (odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.12 [1.00-1.24]) was an independent predictor of IVIG resistance, which was strengthened by sensitivity analyses. The association of NLPR and IVIG resistance was not modified by age, sex, CALs, or days of IVIG initiation ≤ 4.

CONCLUSION

NLPR may be a valuable prognostic marker in KD patients with IVIG resistance.