title: Elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in Bell's palsy and its correlation with facial nerve enhancement on MRI.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to investigate the role of inflammation and atherothrombosis in Bell's palsy (BP) by using neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and mean platelet volume (MPV), respectively, and to study their relations with the facial nerve enhancement on temporal gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (TGd-MRI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Case control study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tertiary health institution.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was performed on 65 patients who were diagnosed with BP and a control group of 35 healthy individuals. The BP patients were also divided into 2 groups, those with facial nerve enhancement on TGd-MRI and those without enhancement. The NLR and MPV of each group were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The NLRs of the BP patients were significantly higher than control group (P = .001). The NLRs of patients with facial nerve enhancement on TGd-MRI were significantly higher than patients without enhancement (P = .001). There was a positive and significant correlation between NLR and House-Brackmann (HB) grade of the patients (r = 0.641; P < .05). MPV did not show any significant correlation with any of the parameters studied (P > .05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  NLR can be used as a new and important marker in BP since it is high in BP patients and significantly correlated with HB grade and facial nerve enhancement on TGd-MR. On the other hand, MPV does not have such correlations. These results offer evidence to support an inflammatory theory rather than microvascular response theory in the etiopatogenesis of BP.
authors.affiliation: Ankara Numune Education and Research Hospital ENT Clinic, Ankara, Turkey adigerok@yahoo.com.tr.
authors.forename: Rauf Oguzhan
authors.initials: RO
authors.lastname: Kum
authors.affiliation: Ankara Numune Education and Research Hospital ENT Clinic, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nurcan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yurtsever Kum
authors.affiliation: Ankara Numune Education and Research Hospital ENT Clinic, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Muge
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ozcan
authors.affiliation: Ankara Numune Education and Research Hospital ENT Clinic, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yavuz Fuat
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.affiliation: Ankara Numune Education and Research Hospital ENT Clinic, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Volkan
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gungor
authors.affiliation: Ankara Numune Education and Research Hospital ENT Clinic, Ankara, Turkey Hitit University Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Çorum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Adnan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Unal
authors.affiliation: Ankara Numune Education and Research Hospital Department of Radiology, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Deniz Sözmen
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Ciliz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D020330:Bell Palsy / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003287:Contrast Media; D005154:Facial Nerve / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005682:Gadolinium; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008214:Lymphocytes; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D063847:Mean Platelet Volume; D008875:Middle Aged; D009504:Neutrophils; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D005682:Gadolinium
keywords: Bell’s palsy; inflammation; inflammatory marker; mean platelet volume; neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio