Can We Estimate The Recurrence Of Primary Spontaneous Pneumothorax With Simple Blood Tests?

INTRODUCTION: Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are associated with in inflammatory diseases and inflammation plays an important role in primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP). Therefore, this study evaluated the relationship between estimating recurrence risk and simple blood test such as NLR and PLR in patients with PSP.
METHODS: We designed a retrospective study examining the benefit of NLR and PLR in estimating recurrence in PSP patients. Patients were divided into 3 groups according to their recurrence: Group 1 (132 patients; defined as no recurrence); Group 2 (46 patients; defined as one recurrence); Group 3 (16 patients; defined as two or more recurrence). The clinical blood parameters were compared among the groups. Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-square and ANOVA test were used to analyze data.
RESULTS: NLR and PLR were significantly elevated in patients with recurrent PSP (p<0.001 and p<0.001,respectively). The best NLR cut-off value for predicting recurrence was 3.5 with 87% sensitivity and 63% specificity, and the best PLR cut-off value was 144.5 with 75% sensitivity and 66% specificity.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: NLR and PLR were two useful inflammatory markers for assessment of recurrence in PSP patients. The present study is the first report about the association of NLR and PLR with recurrence in PSP patients. The results may have clinical importance, because the early markers of recurrent PSP.