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. 2022 Jul;10(14):763.
doi: 10.21037/atm-22-2453.

High level of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio increases the risk of deep venous thrombosis in intensive care unit patients after oral cancer surgery: a retrospective study

Lu Peng #  1 , Qiang Bao #  1 , Xiaoli Hong  1 , Weichao Li  1 , Yukai Zheng  1 , Zijun Zou  1 , Wenhua Liao  1 , Canxia Huang  1
Affiliations

High level of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio increases the risk of deep venous thrombosis in intensive care unit patients after oral cancer surgery: a retrospective study

Lu Peng et al. Ann Transl Med. 2022 Jul.

Abstract

Background: The incidence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is higher in surgical patients, but there have been few studies on the risk factors of DVT in intensive care unit (ICU) patients after oral cancer surgery, particularly in relation to the inflammatory and nutritional scores, and intervene with these risk factors early may decrease the occurrence of DVT.

Methods: We performed a retrospective study of adult patients who were admitted to ICU after undergoing radical resection of oral cancer and performed ultrasound detection for DVT within 1 week after surgery from April 2019 to July 2021. DVT was diagnosed by venous ultrasonography of the lower extremities. Preoperative inflammatory and nutritional scores, including neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), plate to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), prognostic nutritional index (PNI) were retrospectively calculated according to test results before surgery. Clinical characteristics, including the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score, Caprini Risk Score (CRS), Charlson comorbidity index, anticoagulation therapy, and mechanical ventilation time (MVT) after admitted to ICU were obtained. The risk factors affecting DVT occurrence were analyzed by logistic regression, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the value of the relevant indicators in evaluating DVT.

Results: Among the 128 patients, 43 patients (33.6%) developed DVT. Compared with the non-DVT group, the preoperative glucose (GLU), postoperative D-dimer (P<0.05), and postoperative NLR (P<0.001) were higher in the DVT group than in the non-DVT group. In multivariate logistic analysis, NLR (P=0.001), postoperative D-dimer >5.57 µg/mL (P=0.002), GLU >5.15 mmol/L (P=0.025) was associated with DVT, and the areas under the curve (AUCs) of NLR in predicting DVT was 0.729. We also found that the DVT group had longer MVT and length of stay (LOS) than the non-DVT group, and correlation analysis indicated that NLR level was positively related with MVT (r=0.36; P<0.0001) and LOS (r=0.452; P<0.0001).

Conclusions: A high level of NLR, indicative of a poor immunity and nutrition status, increases the risk of DVT in patients after oral cancer surgery, and improvement of immunity and nutrition status may help decrease the occurrence of postoperative DVT.

Keywords: Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio; deep venous thrombosis (DVT); intensive care unit (ICU); oral cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://atm.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/atm-22-2453/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The workflow of patients in our study. DVT, deep venous thrombosis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
ROC curves for NLR in predicting DVT. AUC, area under the curve; ROC, receiver operating characteristic; NLR, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio; DVT, deep venous thrombosis.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The correlation of NLR with LOS (A) and MVT (B). NLR, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio; LOS, length of stay; MVT, mechanical ventilation time.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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