title: Postablation neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio correlates with arrhythmia recurrence after catheter ablation of lone atrial fibrillation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been proposed as a novel marker of systemic inflammation and oxidative stress. The objective of this study was to ascertain the relationship between levels of NLR and recurrence of lone atrial fibrillation (AF) after catheter ablation.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 379 lone AF patients who underwent catheter ablation were enrolled in the study. The NLR before and after catheter ablation was determined. Cox regression analyses were used to estimate the relationship between NLR and the recurrence of lone AF.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After a mean follow-up of (30.5 ± 5.3) months, 124 (32.7%) patients had AF recurrences. The patients who developed AF recurrence had a higher postablation NLR (post-NLR) than patients with no recurrence (5.74 ± 1.55 vs. 4.66 ± 1.27, P < 0.001). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that post-NLR (hazard ratio (HR) 1.514, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.364-1.680, P < 0.001), left atrium diameter (HR 1.035, 95% CI 1.001-1.071, P = 0.04) and body mass index (HR 1.028, 95% CI 1.002-1.054, P = 0.03) were independent predictors of AF recurrence. Using a cut-off level of 5.15, post-NLR predicted AF recurrence with a sensitivity of 73% and specificity of 67%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicate that an elevated post-NLR is associated with a high rate of lone AF recurrence. A simple measurement of NLR may help us to identify high-risk patients who need pharmacologic intervention to prevent recurrence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Institute of Heart Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Xueyuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Institute of Heart Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Sen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Institute of Heart Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Xianliang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Institute of Heart Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Yingwei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Institute of Heart Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Ronghui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Institute of Heart Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Deyong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Institute of Heart Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Caihua
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Institute of Heart Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Institute of Heart Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Jianzeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Institute of Heart Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, Beijing 100029, China. Email: chshma@vip.sina.com.
authors.forename: Changsheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000601:surgery*; D017115:Catheter Ablation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000276:immunology*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models