Evaluation of the Relationship between Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio and Clinical Outcomes in Geriatric Patients in the Post Anesthetic Care Unit

Background: Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are simple markers that evaluate physiological stress and inflammatory response in the perioperative period. It is affected not only by surgical trauma but also by anesthesia techniques. In this study, we aimed to examine the correlation between anesthesia technique, malignancy and age triad, and NLR and PLR ratio in patients over 65 who underwent surgery and were admitted to the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU). Methods-Results: A total of 452 patients over 65 were evaluated. When compared in terms of anesthesia techniques, it was determined that the number of patients with malignancy and the length of hospital stay were higher in the general anesthesia group. Leukocytes, neutrophils, and NLR rates were higher in the spinal/epidural group in the preoperative period. NLR and the rate of change of neutrophils, leukocytes, and lymphocytes were higher in the group with malignancy. While a weak correlation was determined between the rate of change and hospitalization, no difference was found in the length of stay in PACU. Conclusion: The use of NLR and PLR as potential biomarkers for preoperative risk assessment and classification can be appropriate for several reasons. First, it is a simple and inexpensive biomarker that does not require additional research. The other is that the preoperative NLR evaluation is useful in the evalu-ation of support and rehabilitation of the patients in the postoperative period. Copyright (c) 2024, Taiwan Society of Geriatric Emergency & Critical Care Medicine.