title: Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio as a predictor of disease severity in ulcerative colitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Blood neutrophil-to-lymphocyte (N/L) ratio is an indicator of the overall inflammatory status of the body, and an alteration in N/L ratio may be found in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients. The aims of this study were to investigate the utility of N/L ratio as a simple and readily available predictor for clinical disease activity in UC.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-six patients and 28 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. The neutrophil and lymphocyte counts were recorded, and the N/L ratio was calculated from these parameters. The extent of disease classified according to the Montreal classification, clinical disease activity was evaluated using a modified Truelove-Witts severity index, and endoscopic disease activities were classified according to Schroder et al.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The serum N/L ratios of active patients were significantly higher than those of inactive UC and controls (P < 0.001). The optimum N/L ratio cut-off point for active UC was 2.47. There was no significant difference between inflammation parameters, disease extension, and disease activity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results demonstrate that N/L ratio is higher in patients with active UC compared with controls and UC patients in remission and a cut-off value of 2.47 can be used to identify patients with active ulcerative colitis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erciyes University, Medical School, Kayseri, Turkey. drcelikbilek@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Celikbilek
authors.forename: Serkan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dogan
authors.forename: Omer
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ozbakır
authors.forename: Gökmen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zararsız
authors.forename: Hamit
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kücük
authors.forename: Sebnem
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gürsoy
authors.forename: Alper
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yurci
authors.forename: Kadri
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Güven
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yücesoy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000473:pathology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012372:ROC Curve; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers