Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio predicts coronary artery lesion complexity and mortality after non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome.

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.

CONCLUSION

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.