OBJECTIVE To explore the risk factors for systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) after percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) in patients with preoperative negative urine culture (UC). STUDY DESIGN Observational study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY Department of Urology, Gazi Hospital, Samsun, Turkey, from January 2015 to January 2020. METHODOLOGY Two hundred and twenty-eight patients, who underwent conventional PCNL for renal stones, were evaluated. The patients were divided into non-SIRS (Group 1) and SIRS (Group 2) groups, and the effects of the variables were investigated to predict the development of SIRS. RESULTS Despite preoperative sterile UC, SIRS developed postoperatively in 29 (12.7%) patients. The univariate analysis revealed a statistically significant difference between groups in preoperative serum C-reactive protein (CRP) (p 117.36 (p 3.16 mg/L (p 471 mm2 (p = 0.023) and hemoglobin drop >2.3 g/L (p <0.001) are independent risk factors for post-operative SIRS after PCNL. CONCLUSION PLR, CRP, stone size, and hemoglobin drop can predict SIRS after PCNL. This finding may help classify risk in patients before PCNL, especially in those with a sterile urine culture. Key Words: C-reactive protein, Percutaneous nephrolithotomy, Platelet/lymphocyte ratio, Systemic inflammatory response syndrome.