New inflammatory markers in early rheumatoid arthritis.
BACKGROUND
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common chronic inflammatory disorder and is associated with progressive destruction of synovial joints and physical disability. Therapies with known benefits include disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), such as methotrexate, as well as more recent biologic agents, such as tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (anti-TNF therapy).


METHODS
This was a retrospective study, which included 205 RA and 112 early RA (ERA) patients from the Rheumatology Clinic at Gaziantep University School of Medicine Research Center as well as 104 healthy controls.


RESULTS
The mean neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was found to be 3.15 ± 2.64 in the patient group and 2.03 ± 0.94 in the control group. The mean platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) was 162.39 ± 107.76 in the patient group and 131.23 ± 48.09 in the control group. There was a significant difference in both the NLR and PLR between the patient and control groups (both p < 0.01). There was a significant difference in both the NLR and PLR between patients with active disease and remission (both p < 0.001) in RA, including anti-TNF therapy and DMARDs groups. There was a significant difference in NLR (p = 0.001) but not in PLR (p = 0.051) between active disease and remission in ERA.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of the present study suggest that the NLR may be considered a useful marker of disease activity in RA and one that can aid the diagnosis of ERA. The PLR can be used in the assessment of disease activity in RA patients undergoing anti-TNF therapy but is not suitable for diagnosing ERA.
School of Medicine, Department of Rheumatology, Gaziantep University, 27500, Gaziantep, Turkey. drorhanzengin@gmail.com.
O
O
Zengin
School of Medicine, Department of Rheumatology, Gaziantep University, 27500, Gaziantep, Turkey.
M E
ME
Onder
School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Gaziantep University, 27500, Gaziantep, Turkey.
A
A
Kalem
School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Gaziantep University, 27500, Gaziantep, Turkey.
M
M
Bilici
School of Medicine, Department of Geriatrics, Gaziantep University, 27500, Gaziantep, Turkey.
I H
IH
Türkbeyler
School of Medicine, Department of Geriatrics, Gaziantep University, 27500, Gaziantep, Turkey.
Z A
ZA
Ozturk
School of Medicine, Department of Rheumatology, Gaziantep University, 27500, Gaziantep, Turkey.
B
B
Kisacik
School of Medicine, Department of Rheumatology, Gaziantep University, 27500, Gaziantep, Turkey.
A M
AM
Onat
D000328:Adult; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation; D008214:Lymphocytes; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D015415:Biomarkers; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
Biomarkers; Disease modifying antirheumatic drugs; Inflammation; Lymphocytes; Tumor necrosis factor