Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio: a new biomarker for stable COPD?

Résumé fourni par la source

Background: neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a cost-effective biomarker of systemic inflammation. Increased NLR may predict adverse respiratory outcomes and mortality in COPD patients especially after severe exacerbations. However, the role of NLR in COPD stable patients and its association with cardiovascular risk remain unclear. Aim: to determine whether High NLR (HNLR) in stable COPD patients is associated with different disease control, lung function and cardiovascular risk compared to COPD patients with Low NLR (LNLR). Methods: data on COPD stable patients admitted at our pulmonary rehabilitation department were retrospectively collected (2022-2024). Clinical, functional and inflammatory characteristics were recorded. Ten-year cardiovascular risk was evaluated according to ESC guidelines. Patients were divided in HNLR (NLR ≥ 2.15) and LNLR (NLR < 2.15), according to the median value. Results: 247 patients were enrolled. No differences in terms of anthropometric data and smoking status were found between the two groups. HNLR patients had an increased number of severe exacerbations in the previous year (p=0.002), lower FEV1% (p=0.011), higher RV% (p=0.027), and increased PaCO2 (p=0.008). Chronic respiratory failure was more prevalent in HNLR patients (p=0.001). Additionally, HNLR patients had higher ten-year cardiovascular risk (p= 0.003), an increased prevalence of atrial fibrillation (p= 0.041) and chronic kidney disease (p=0.011). Conclusion: Our data suggest that NLR could be used with other clinical and functional biomarkers to better phenotype multimorbid COPD patients. Further prospective studies are required to validate these findings.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.