title: Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio predicts coronary artery lesion complexity and mortality after non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Inflammatory mechanisms are known to play an important role in coronary artery disease. The present study aimed to investigate the importance of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in terms of in-hospital mortality and its association with currently used risk scores in patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS).
  
  
  METHODS
  Three hundred and seventeen patients with NSTE-ACS were included. The patients were divided into tertiles according to their NLR values (NLR <2.6, NLR=2.6-4.5, and NLR >4.5). Clinical and angiographic risk was evaluated by the SYNTAX and GRACE risk scores.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The GRACE risk score was significantly higher in the group with high NLR values compared to those with moderate or low NLR (161.5±40.3, 130.5±32.3, and 123.9±34.3, respectively, p<0.001). Similarly, the SYNTAX score was significantly higher in the group with high NLR values (20.4±10.1, 15.5±10.5, and 13.4±7.8, respectively, p=0.003). Moreover, both GRACE (r=0.457, p<0.001) and SYNTAX scores (r=0.253, p=0.001) showed a significant positive correlation with NLR.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  NLR has been found to be correlated with clinical and angiographic risk scores. Low NLR might be a good predictor for low in-hospital mortality and simple coronary anatomy in NSTE-ACS patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Ondokuz Mayis University, Faculty of Medicine, Samsun, Turkey. Electronic address: korhansoylu@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Korhan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Soylu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Artvin State Hospital, Artvin, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ömer
authors.initials: Ö
authors.lastname: Gedikli
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Ondokuz Mayis University, Faculty of Medicine, Samsun, Turkey.
authors.forename: Göksel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dagasan
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Ondokuz Mayis University, Faculty of Medicine, Samsun, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ertan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aydin
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Gazi State Hospital, Samsun, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gökhan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Aksan
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Aksaray State Hospital, Aksaray, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gökay
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nar
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Aksaray State Hospital, Aksaray, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sinan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: İnci
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Ondokuz Mayis University, Faculty of Medicine, Samsun, Turkey.
authors.forename: Özcan
authors.initials: Ö
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
mesh_terms: D054058:Acute Coronary Syndrome / Q000097:blood* / Q000401:mortality*; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008214:Lymphocytes; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009504:Neutrophils; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment
keywords: GRACE score; Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; Non-ST-segment acute coronary syndrome; Rácio neutrófilo/linfócito; SYNTAX score; Score GRACE; Score SYNTAX; Síndrome coronária aguda sem elevação do segmento ST