Clinical relevance of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and mean platelet volume in pediatric Henoch-Schonlein Purpura: a meta-analysis

Abdominal imaging and endoscopic characteristics of adult abdominal IgA vasculitis: a multicenter retrospective study

BACKGROUND

IgA vasculitis (IgAV), previously known as Henoch-Schönlein purpura, is an IgA-mediated systemic small vessel vasculitis that tends to be more severe in adults than in children. Early diagnosis of IgAV involving the gastrointestinal tract remains difficult, especially in patients who present with gastrointestinal symptoms before purpura. This study aims to systematically analyze the abdominal imaging and endoscopic features of adult patients with abdominal IgAV, providing assistance to clinicians in the early recognition of this condition.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This multicenter retrospective study was conducted in three large tertiary hospitals in China from January 2017 to January 2024. A total of 108 adult patients with abdominal IgAV, who had complete abdominal imaging and/or endoscopy results, were enrolled. The clinical manifestations, abdominal imaging findings, endoscopic characteristics, and serological indicators of the patients were analyzed.

RESULTS

The median age of the patients was 40 years (IQR: 26-55), with a male-to-female ratio of 2:1. Acute abdominal pain was the most common presenting symptom (100 patients, 92.59%). Bowel wall thickening was the most frequent finding on abdominal imaging (50/86 patients, 58.14%). Gastrointestinal endoscopy showed findings of congestion and erosion (32/67 patients, 47.76%), and erosion with ulcers (21/67 patients, 31.34%). Among patients with both imaging and endoscopic results, the duodenum (28/51 patients, 54.90%) and ileum (28/51 patients, 54.90%) were the most commonly affected sites. Laboratory findings revealed elevated white blood cell count (WBC), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), C-reactive protein (CRP), D-dimer and fibrinogen levels, along with decreased albumin level. Comparing patients with gastrointestinal symptoms versus purpura as the initial symptom, those with gastrointestinal symptoms had higher levels of WBC (p < 0.05) and NLR (p < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

The most common symptom in adult abdominal IgAV patients is acute abdominal pain. In the early stage of the disease, most patients exhibit elevated levels of WBC, NLR, CRP, D-dimer, and fibrinogen, along with decreased albumin level. The duodenum and ileum are the most commonly affected sites. By integrating these findings, clinicians can identify abdominal IgAV patients earlier and more accurately.

Immunological Features of Children with Gastrointestinal Bleeding Due to Henoch-Schönlein Purpura

Background

This study aims to evaluate the immunological features of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding in children with Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP).

Study Design

This retrospective study was conducted on children with HSP. Demographic and clinical data were collected, including serum immunoglobulin (Ig) levels, complement C3 and C4 levels, and lymphocyte subtype percentage.

Results

A total of 446 hospitalized children had HSP. Eighty-six children with HSP had GI bleeding, 114 had proteinuria, and 107 had hematuria. Lower arthralgia, prolonged glucocorticoid use, increased white blood cell counts, elevated neutrophils and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, reduced IgG and C3 levels, elevated CD19+ cell percentage, and reduced CD3+ cell and natural killer cell percentages were associated with GI bleeding risk in patients with HSP. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that arthralgia, glucocorticoid use, increased neutrophil percentage, reduced IgG and C3 levels, and increased CD19+ cell percentage were independent predictors of GI bleeding. Further analysis indicated that the combination of C3 and CD19+ cell percentages had a high predictive ability for GI bleeding in children with HSP.

Conclusion

This study indicated that reduced C3 and increased CD19+ cell percentages contributed to the development of GI bleeding in children with HSP. Specific immunologic profiles may be strongly correlated with GI bleeding risk in children with HSP.

Validation of the diagnostic accuracy of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and mean platelet volume (MPV) in cirrhotic patients with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis

Background

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a significant complication among cirrhotic patients with ascites and is associated with high mortality. Early diagnosis and treatment of SBP are crucial, as they are associated with better outcomes and lower mortality. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and mean platelet volume (MPV) are routine, inexpensive, easily measured markers readily obtained from a complete blood count (CBC). Several studies have addressed the diagnostic role of NLR and MPV in patients with SBP but with different cutoff values, sensitivity, and specificity. Therefore, we conducted this study to validate the clinical utility of NLR and MPV in diagnosing SBP.

Methods

This study included 332 cirrhotic patients with ascites who were admitted to Sohag University Hospitals in Egypt between April 2020 and April 2022. Of these patients, 117 had SBP, and 215 did not. Both NLR and MPV were measured in all patients, and the ability of NLR and MPV to diagnose SBP was assessed using the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.

Results

NLR and MPV were significantly elevated in patients with SBP compared to those without SBP (P < 0.001). At a cutoff value of 5.6, the sensitivity and specificity of the NLR in detecting SBP were 78% and 81%, respectively. In contrast, MPV, at a cutoff value of 8.8 fL, had a sensitivity of 62% and a specificity of 63%. The combination of NLR and MPV did not provide significant additional diagnostic value beyond only using NLR.

Conclusion

Although NLR and MPV allow the detection of SBP, the NLR has higher clinical utility and is superior to MPV in diagnosing SBP.

Platelet parameters and the association with morbidity and mortality in Preterm Infants

BACKGROUND

There is growing recognition of the role of platelets in inflammation and immune responses, and platelets have been associated with various cardiovascular diseases. It is also known that neonatal morbidities are related to overall platelet activity, and platelet parameters may have the potential to predict morbidities and mortality in preterm infants. This study aimed to assess the initial platelet parameters and the association with major morbidities and mortality in preterm neonates.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed data from very preterm neonates with a gestational age (GA) <32 weeks who were admitted between June 2020 and May 2021 for platelet parameters (counts, mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW) and plateletcrit (platelet counts x MPV/10000(%)) at birth. Major morbidities included early- onset sepsis (EOS) ≤3 days after birth, severe intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) grade ≥3, and early or overall mortality.

RESULTS

A total of 197 very preterm neonates were studied. Their mean (±SD) GA was 28.0 ± 2.4 weeks, birth weight was 990 ± 293 g, platelet counts were 245 ± 81 x1000/μL, MPV was 10.0 ± 0.7 fl, PDW was 11.0 ± 1.6 fl, and plateletcrit was 0.24 ± 0.08%. MPV had a weak negative correlation with both GA (r = -0.234, p = 0.001) and BW (r = -0.343, p <0.001). A lower plateletcrit was associated with EOS (0.14 (0.04-0.22) % vs. 0.23 (0.19-0.30) %, p = 0.027), severe IVH ≤7 days after birth (0.18 (0.14-0.27) % vs. 0.23 (0.20-0.30) %, p = 0.022), and early and overall mortality (0.15 (0.20-0.30) % vs. 0.23 (0.20-0.30) %, p = 0.049; 0.20 ± 0.09 % vs. 0.25 ± 0.07 %, p = 0.008).

CONCLUSION

A lower plateletcrit within 24 hours of birth was associated with EOS, severe IVH ≤7 days after birth, and first-week and overall mortality in very preterm neonates.

Blood routine examination: a simple way for differential diagnosis of immunoglobulin A vasculitis with abdominal involvement and appendicitis in children

To explore the value of blood routine examination indexes in the differential diagnosis of immunoglobulin A vasculitis (IgAV) with abdominal involvement and appendicitis in children. Forty-seven patients with IgAV and abdominal involvement, 95 cases with appendicitis, and 48 healthy children were enrolled in this study. Demographic and laboratory data were retrospectively recorded from medical files. The levels of serum percentage of lymphocytes (LYM%), percentage of eosinophils (E%), red cell volume distribution width (RDW) and platelet (PLT) count were higher, while blood cells (WBC) count, percentage of neutrophils (N%), percentage of monocytes (M%), mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width and C-reactive protein were lower in the group of IgAV with abdominal involvement compared to appendicitis group (P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed LYM% (odds ratio (OR) = 1.34, P = 0.001) and RDW (OR = 2.96, P = 0.045) were independent risk factors for IgAV with abdominal involvement. N% (OR = 1.270, P = 0.006) and MPV (OR = 51.15, P = 0.042) were independently associated with appendicitis. Using receiver operating characteristic analysis, the optimal cut-off values (sensitivity and specificity) respectively were 42.17% (95.7%, 100.0%) for LYM%, 12.65% (83.0%, 83.2%) for RDW, 61.5% (91.6%, 97.9%) for NE% and 10.1fL (78.9%, 75.4%) for MPV, with the AUC values of 0.989, 0.881, 0.985, 0.810, respectively. Blood routine examination indices, especially the N%, LYM%, RDW, and MPV, can be used for simple differential diagnosis of IgAV with abdominal involvement and appendicitis.

Inflammatory skin diseases and wounds

Inflammatory wounds of the skin can be caused by many different diseases. Of particular importance here are the very heterogeneous groups of vasculitides and vasculopathies. These are usually interdisciplinary relevant diseases that require extensive diagnostics in specialized centres. Clinically, these inflammatory wounds present as very painful ulcers that develop from necrosis and are surrounded by erythematous livid borders. The healing process is often difficult and protracted. Moreover, it considerably impairs the quality of life of the affected patients. In addition to clinical evaluation, histopathological examination of biopsies taken as early as possible is particularly important in diagnosis. Numerous differential diagnoses must be ruled out. Therapeutically, in addition to the often necessary systemic therapies, which include immunosuppressants (immunomodulating drugs and/or rheologics), appropriate topical wound treatment, usually in combination with compression therapy, should always be considered. Whenever possible, the causative factors should be diagnosed early and avoided or treated.

Age- and sex-specific pediatric reference intervals for neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio, and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio

INTRODUCTION

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) are emerging biomarkers for systemic inflammation and have been shown to predict morbidity and mortality for several diseases. However, lack of pediatric reference intervals (RIs) prevents their comprehensive use in patient care and medical research.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We calculated reference intervals and corresponding confidence intervals for NLR, PLR, and LMR from birth to 18 years using a data-mining approach: We analyzed 232 746 blood counts from 60 685 patients performed during patient care and excluded patients with elevated C-reactive protein and procalcitonin. Test results were separated according to age and sex, and the distribution of physiological ratios was estimated using an indirect approach (refineR). Additionally, we investigated the ratios' diagnostic benefit for different inflammatory diseases (acute appendicitis, asthma, Bell's palsy, Henoch-Schonlein purpura, and cystic fibrosis) using the newly obtained reference intervals.

RESULTS

We estimated age- and sex-specific reference intervals from birth to adulthood for NLR, PLR, and LMR. Analyses in pediatric inflammatory diseases showed that PLR and LMR were poor markers to detect the examined inflammatory diseases, while NLR was significantly increased in patients with appendicitis and asthma.

CONCLUSION

We provide pediatric reference intervals for NLR, PLR, and LMR to improve the interpretation of these biomarkers in children.