Neutrophil/Lymphocytes Ratio in Acute Ischemic Stroke

INTRODUCTION: Neutrophil and lymphocyte numbers are known to play a role in the inflammatory response and in the atherosclerotic process. The elevated level of neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is associated with prognosis, disease severity and mortality in cardiovascular diseases and atherosclerosis. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether NLR changed in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients, whether there was a relationship between NLR and lesion size, type of involvement, age, sex, and whether NLR had effect on short term prognosis. METHODS: One hundred and seventy-four patients admitted with AIS diagnosis were included in the study. Patients’ existing files were screened for anamnesis, physical and neurological examinations, chronic illness history, antiplatelet and anticoagulant use, complete blood count, cholesterol panel, routine biochemical examinations, cranial Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging findings. Patients were grouped according to Bamford classification and TOAST classification. RESULTS: Of the participants, 88 (50.9%) were female, 86 (49.1%) were male and the mean age was 73.8 ± 10.5 years. NLR was significantly higher in patients with AIS in terms of normal reference values. When patients were assessed within themselves, NLR increased as age increased. In the 50-59 and 60-69 age groups, NLR was higher in males. No gender difference was found over 70 years old patients. The NLR values of the total anterior circulation infarct group were significantly higher than the other groups (p=0.011; p=0.038; p=0.001). The NLR values of the patients with exitus were meaningfully higher than the surviving patients (p=0.006). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The NLR value is elevated in patients with AIS and correlates with increased age, male gender and wide infarct area. Higher NLR seems to predict short-term mortality and may be used as a prognostic tool.