Neutrophil Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) as a Bio Inflammatory Marker in Pre-eclampsia

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Pre-eclampsia, a systemic disease unique topregnancy, affects 3–14% of pregnant women. The aim ofthe present study was to evaluate Neutrophil LymphocyteRatio (NLR) as a bio inflammatory marker of pre-eclampsia(PE), a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy characterized byhypertension and proteinuria after 20 weeks of gestation.Material and Methods: This case control study was carriedout over a period of 10 months after informed consent andethical clearance. The study population included 70 pregnantwomen (35 pre-eclampsia cases and 35 normotensive pregnantsubjects as controls). 3 ml venous blood samples were obtainedfrom both the cases and controls. Complete blood count wasdone using semi-automated three part haematology analyserwhich gives the reading of cell counts, NLR was calculatedmanually.Results: The case group (subjects with pre-eclampsia) werefound to have higher neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR)than that of the control group. This difference was statisticallysignificant (p<0.001). The receiver operating curve (ROC)analysis showed significant diagnostic accuracy of NLR todiscriminate cases and controls (area under the curve [AUC]= 0.73, P < 0.001) at cutoff value of >= 4.86, 68.6% sensitivityand 80% specificity.Conclusion: Unlike many other inflammatory markers, NLRproves to be an inexpensive and readily available biomarkers,obtained from routinely done complete blood counts that maybe useful for prediction and diagnosis of pre-eclampsia.