Evaluation of the relationship of neutrophil‐to lymphocyte ratio and platelet‐to‐lymphocyte ratio with in‐hospital mortality in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract Introduction Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) has the highest mortality rate and medical costs. The neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet‐to‐lymphocyte (PLR) ratio are inflammatory markers that have been recently linked to the AECOPD severity and patient outcome. Objective Therefore, the present study aimed at evaluating the diagnostic value of NLR and PLR in the prognosis of the in‐hospital mortality in AECOPD patients. Methods The present retrospective study was performed on 829 AECOPD patients. Age, gender and laboratory results of CBC tests including lymphocyte count, neutrophil count, platelet count, hemoglobin count, white blood cell count (WBC), eosinophil cell count, NLR, PLR and CRP as well as the mortality data were collected from the patients’ records and subsequently recorded. Results The results of the present study revealed that NLR with the cut‐off value of 6.90, sensitivity of 60.87%, and specificity of 73.29% had a significant diagnostic value in the prognosis of in‐hospital mortality in AECOPD patients ( P < 0.05). A similar significant finding regarding the diagnostic value in the prognosis of in‐hospital mortality in AECOPD patients was obtained for CRP with the cut‐off value of 30, sensitivity of 73.08%, and specificity of 60.26% ( P < 0.05). However, the diagnostic value of PLR in the prognosis of in‐hospital mortality in AECOPD patients was found to be insignificant ( P = 0.18). Conclusion According to the results of the present study, NLR > 6.90 can be considered as a valuable and accurate marker in the prognosis of in‐hospital mortality in AECOPD patients.