ABSTRACT

Inflammation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), plateletto- lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and mean platelet volume (MPV) are associated with inflammation; therefore, we aimed to evaluate NLR, PLR, and MPV; investigate their association with each other in patients with compensated heart failure (HF) and compare it with that in controls; and search the predictive value of those markers in detecting the presence of HF.

Between January 2016 and February 2017, 40 HF patients with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of <40% were enrolled in the study. The control group comprised 30 individuals with LVEF of ≥50% and no HF. The NLR, PLR, and MPV values were evaluated in all participants.

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, PLR, and MPV were significantly higher in the HF group than those in the control group. In the patient group, there was a significant inverse correlation between LVEF and all inflammatory markers (for all, p<0.05), except for MPV. Inflammatory markers showed a significant positive relationship with each other (for all, p<0.05). Of all inflammatory markers, PLR was the only predictor of the presence of HF (OR, 1.015; 95% CI: 1.001–1.028; p=0.030). ROC curve analysis showed that the PLR value predicting the presence of HF was 73 with maximal sensitivity of 83% and specificity of 53% (UAC: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.65–0.88; p<0.001).

Compared to those in the control group, NLR, PLR, and MPV were significantly higher and positively correlated to each other in the HF group. In addition, of those markers, only PLR could predict the presence of HF.

Keywords: Heart failure, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, mean platelet volume