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. 2021 Dec 30;12(1):81.
doi: 10.3390/diagnostics12010081.

Diagnostic Value of the Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) and Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR) in Various Respiratory Diseases: A Retrospective Analysis

Milena-Adina Man  1 , Lavinia Davidescu  2 , Nicoleta-Stefania Motoc  1 , Ruxandra-Mioara Rajnoveanu  1 , Cosmina-Ioana Bondor  3 , Carmen-Monica Pop  1 , Claudia Toma  4
Affiliations

Diagnostic Value of the Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) and Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR) in Various Respiratory Diseases: A Retrospective Analysis

Milena-Adina Man et al. Diagnostics (Basel). .

Abstract

The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte (PLR) ratio are two extensively used inflammatory markers that have been proved very useful in evaluating inflammation in several diseases. The present article aimed to investigate if they have any value in distinguishing among various respiratory disorders. One hundred and forty-five patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), 219 patients with different chronic respiratory diseases (interstitial lung disease, obstructive sleep apnea(OSA)-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) overlap syndrome, bronchiectasis) and 161 healthy individuals as a control group were included in the study. While neither NLR nor PLR had any power in differentiating between various diseases, PLR was found to be significant but poor as a diagnostic test when the control group was compared with the OSA-COPD group. NLR was found to be significant but poor as a diagnostic test when we compared the control group with all three groups (separately): the OSA-COPD group; interstitial lung disease group, and bronchiectasis group. NLR and PLR had poor power to discriminate between various respiratory diseases and cannot be used in making the differential diagnosis.

Keywords: inflammatory markers; neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR); platelet-to-lymphocyte (PLR); respiratory diseases.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
ROC curve with PLR and NLR (a) comparing COVID-19 group versus control group; (b) comparing COVID-19 group versus chronic respiratory disease group; (c) comparing COVID-19 group versus control group and chronic respiratory disease group.
Figure 2
Figure 2
ROC curve with PLR and NLR (a) comparing OSA-COPD group (coded with 0) versus control group; (b) comparing OSA-COPD group (coded with 0) versus interstitial lung disease and bronchiectasis groups; (c) comparing interstitial lung disease group (coded with 1) versus control group; (d) comparing interstitial lung disease group (coded with 1) versus OSA-COPD and bronchiectasis groups; (e) comparing bronchiectasis (coded with 1) group versus control group; (f) comparing bronchiectasis (coded with 1) group versus OSA-COPD and interstitial lung disease groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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