Is neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio a useful marker to predict the severity of pre-eclampsia?

Objective: To evaluate the relationship of neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) with proteinuria and blood pressure level in patients with pre-eclampsia and to investigate whether or not NLR has a role in predicting the severity of pre-eclampsia. Study design: The study comprised 30 healthy pregnant females (Group 1), 37 females with mild pre-eclampsia (Group 2) and 40 with severe pre-eclampsia (Group 3). All the study participants were statistically compared in respect of demographic data, proteinuria levels, and blood pressure levels. Result: Age, body mass index, and gestational weeks were similar in all the groups. Maternal NLR was determined to be significantly high in the pre-eclamptic patients (Groups 2 and 3) compared to the healthy pregnant patients (Group 1) (p = 0.017). NLR was significantly higher in the severe pre-eclampsia group than in the mild pre-eclampsia group (p = 0.032). A significant positive correlation was determined in correlation analysis between NLR and proteinuria (p = 0.013, r = 0.319). There was also a significant and positive correlation between NLR and systolic/diastolic arterial pressure (p = 0.007, r = 0.285; p = 0.044, r = 0.213, respectively). Conclusion: In conclusion, while NLR was determined as significantly high in patients with pre-eclampsia, to be able to use this in the classification of the severity of pre-eclampsia, there is a need for further studies on a more extensive population. (C) 2016 International Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.