title: Association of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio with presence of isolated coronary artery ectasia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Coronary artery ectasia (CAE) has been defined as a dilated artery luminal diameter that is at least 50% greater than the diameter of the normal portion of the artery. Isolated CAE is defined as CAE without significant coronary artery stenosis and isolated CAE has more pronounced inflammatory symptoms. Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is widely used as a marker of inflammation and an indicator of cardiovascular outcomes in patients with coronary artery disease. We examined a possible association between NLR and the presence of isolated CAE.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this study, 2345 patients who underwent coronary angiography for suspected or known ischemic heart disease were evaluated retrospectively. Following the application of exclusion criteria, our study population consisted of 81 CAE patients and 85 age- and gender-matched subjects who proved to have normal coronary angiograms. Baseline neutrophil, lymphocyte and other hematologic indices were measured routinely prior to the coronary angiography.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with angiographic isolated CAE had significantly elevated NLR when compared to the patients with normal coronary artery pathology (3.39 ± 1.36 vs. 2.25 ± 0.58, p<0.001). A NLR level >= 2.37 measured on admission had a 77% sensitivity and 63% specificity in predicting isolated CAE at ROC curve analysis. In the multivariate analysis, hypercholesterolemia (OR=2.63, 95% CI 1.22-5.65, p=0.01), obesity (OR=3.76, 95% CI 1.43-9.87, p=0.007) and increased NLR (OR=6.03, 95% CI 2.61-13.94, p<0.001) were independent predictors for the presence of isolated CAE.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio is a readily available clinical laboratory value that is associated with the presence of isolated CAE.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Balıkesir University, Faculty of Medicine, Tukey. isikturgay@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Turgay
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Işık
authors.forename: Erkan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ayhan
authors.forename: Hüseyin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Uyarel
authors.forename: Ibrahim Halil
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Tanboğa
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurt
authors.forename: Mahmut
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Uluganyan
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ergelen
authors.forename: Abdurrahman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Eksik
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology*; D004108:Dilatation, Pathologic / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000166:cytology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012372:ROC Curve; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers