The role of the mean platelet volume and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in peritonsillar abscesses

Introduction: Peritonsillar abscess is a serious infectious disease of the tonsillar tissue. Treatment generally requires both medical and surgical approaches to relieve the symptoms. Recently, in addition to clinical follow-up, some inflammatory markers, such as the mean platelet volume and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, have been considered to be additional inflammatory monitoring markers in inflammatory diseases. Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the role of mean platelet volume and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in patients with peritonsillar abscess. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in 88 patients with peritonsillar abscess and 88 healthy individuals. We analyzed the white blood cell count, neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, platelet count, C-reactive protein, mean platelet volume and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio values and compared them among the patient and control groups. Results: The mean platelet volume levels were significantly higher in the peritonsillar abscess pretreatment group than in the peritonsillar abscess posttreatment group and the control group. A mean platelet volume value of 8.7 was the optimal cut-off value for evaluating the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of 75%, 65.9%, 68% and 72%, respectively. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio levels were significantly higher in the peritonsillar abscess pretreatment group than in the peritonsillar abscess post-treatment group and the control group. A neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio value of 3.08 was the optimal cut-off value for evaluating the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of 90.9%, 90.9%, 90.9% and 90.9%, respectively. While the white blood cell count, neutrophil count, lymphocyte count and C-reactive protein values were significantly different among the patient and control groups (p<0.05), the platelet count was not significantly different among the patient and control groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: The mean platelet volume and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio values made us think that these parameters were quick, inexpensive and reliable inflammatory follow-up parameters and could be easily integrated into daily practice for peritonsillar abscess treatment except platelet count. (C) 2016 Associacao Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cervico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda.