Role of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio in the evaluation of inflammation in patients with end stage renal disease

Objective To evaluate the relationship between neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and inflammation in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. Methods 100 ESRD patients on maintenance HD were included in this study. Data on patient demographics, dry weight, body mass index, duration of HD (months), etiology of ESRD, delivered dose of dialysis (spKt/V), complete blood count, blood biochemistry and inflammatory markers including hs-CRP, NLR and PLR were recorded. According to the high sensitive C reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels, all patients were divided into two groups:low risk group (hs-CRP<3 mg/L, group A), and high risk group (hs-CRP>3 mg/L, group B). All data were statistically analyzed. Results The two groups were similar in terms of gender, etiology of ESRD and duration and dose of hemodialysis and other biochemical parameters (P>0.05). The age, parathyroid hormone, body mass index, NLR, and PLR in group A were significantly lower than group B (P<0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed that NLR and PLR were positively correlated with hs-CRP (r=0.333, P<0.05; r=0.262, P<0.05), and negatively with the saturation of transferring (r=-0.418, P<0.05; r=-0.309, P<0.05) and hemoglobin (r=-0.257,P<0.05;r=-0.124,P<0.05). Conclusions NLR and PLR have potential clinical values in evaluating the inflammation of ESRD patients undergoing maintenance HD.