Kekilli M, Tanoglu A, Sakin YS, Kurt M, Ocal S, Bagci S. Is the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio associated with liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B?
World J Gastroenterol 2015;
21:5575-5581. [PMID:
25987782 PMCID:
PMC4427681 DOI:
10.3748/wjg.v21.i18.5575]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2014] [Revised: 08/22/2014] [Accepted: 09/30/2014] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
AIM: To determine the association between the neutrophil to lymphocyte (N/L) ratio and the degree of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection.
METHODS: Between December 2011 and February 2013, 129 consecutive CHB patients who were admitted to the study hospitals for histological evaluation of chronic hepatitis B-related liver fibrosis were included in this retrospective study. The patients were divided into two groups based on the fibrosis score: individuals with a fibrosis score of F0 or F1 were included in the “no/minimal liver fibrosis” group, whereas patients with a fibrosis score of F2, F3, or F4 were included in the “advanced liver fibrosis” group. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences 18.0 for Windows was used to analyze the data. A P value of < 0.05 was accepted as statistically significant.
RESULTS: Three experienced and blinded pathologists evaluated the fibrotic status and inflammatory activity of 129 liver biopsy samples from the CHB patients. Following histopathological examination, the “no/minimal fibrosis” group included 79 individuals, while the “advanced fibrosis” group included 50 individuals. Mean (N/L) ratio levels were notably lower in patients with advanced fibrosis when compared with patients with no/minimal fibrosis. The mean value of the aspartate aminotransferase-platelet ratio index was markedly higher in cases with advanced fibrosis compared to those with no/minimal fibrosis.
CONCLUSION: Reduced levels of the peripheral blood N/L ratio were found to give high sensitivity, specificity and predictive values in CHB patients with significant fibrosis. The prominent finding of our research suggests that the N/L ratio can be used as a novel noninvasive marker of fibrosis in patients with CHB.
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