Correlation of the Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio with the Middle Ear Risk Index in Patients with Chronic Otitis Media

This study aimed to investigate the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and severity of the chronic otitis media according to middle ear risk index (MERI) scores. The NLR and middle ear risk index were calculated for 210 chronic otitis media (COM) patients retrospectively. NLR compared between COM patients and 159 participants in control group. Pearson correlation analysis was performed for NLR and MERI. In addition, The cut-off value, sensitivity, and specificity for NLR were determined in COM according to the severity of the disease with ROC analysis. The average of NLR in all patients was 1.94 ± 0.89. NLR was calculated as 2.05 ± 1.03 in the patients with COM and 1.79 ± 0.64 in the control group (p = 0.006, 95% CI 0.07–0.44, t test). According to the ROC analysis, the cut-off point was determined as 1.95 for moderate and severe disease in MERI. For the cut of a NLR = 1.95, sensitivity was calculated as 48.5% and the specificity 57.1% for moderate and severe COM. MERI score was found significantly higher in patients with postoperative graft perforation (p < 0.001, 95% CI 0.7–1.8). NLR has not related significantly with the MERI score according to linear regression analysis (p = 0.927). NLR was found to be significantly higher in chronic otitis media patients compared to the control group. But NLR was not related to the severity of the disease classified with MERI. The cut-off value, sensitivity and sensitivity rates of NLR obtained was not available for clinically use.