The association of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio with medical treatment failure in patients with tubo-ovarian abscess

ABSTRACT

Background@#Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is an acute infection of the upper female genital tract, which may involve the uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries. Tubo-ovarian abscess (TOA) is a complication of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease. Different methods are being utilized to predict the failure of medical management of TOA. Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been proposed as a significant marker for diagnosis in PID. @*Objective@#To compare NLR and sonographic TOA volume between patients who responded to medical management versus patients with failed medical management, and who eventually underwent surgery. @*Methods@#This is a cross-sectional study done by reviewing the hospital records of patients admitted for TOA in a tertiary hospital, from 2014 to 2018. Demographic details of the patients, computed NLR values and TOA volumes were gathered and analyzed.@*Results@#There was no statistical difference between the group who responded to treatment (medical group) versus the group of patients with failed medical management (surgical group) in terms of age, gravidity, parity and mean volume of the TOA. There was a statistically significant difference between the mean NLR of the two treatment groups. @*Conclusion@#Patients diagnosed with TOA, and with failed medical management have significantly higher levels of NLR compared with patients who responded to medical treatment. This positive association can be explored in future researches to validate NLR as a predictor of medical treatment failure for patients with TOA. NLR can also be potentially utilized as novel marker to indicate need for earlier surgical management to decrease the patient’s risk for sepsis.