Relationship Between Computed Tomography Findings and Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio in Mild Head Trauma Cases.

AIM

It is known that hematological parameters increase after head trauma and have a poor prognosis. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is an independent prognostic factor in predicting the outcome of patients with head trauma. In our study, we investigated whether there is a correlation between computed tomography (CT) findings and NLR in cases of mild head trauma (Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score: 14-15).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed 133 cases of head trauma with a GCS score of 14-15 admitted to the emergency department of our hospital. The cases were grouped as normal, scalp lesions, fracture (facial bone fractures, convexity, skull base), and hemorrhage (epidural hematoma, subdural hematoma, subarachnoid hemorrhage) according to CT findings. CT findings and NLR values were compared statistically.

RESULTS

While 60.9% (81 patients) had normal CT findings, 6% (eight patients) had traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage, 1.5% (two patients) had epidural hematoma, 1.5% (two patients) had subdural hematoma, 0.8% (one patient) had calvarial fractures, 19.5% (26 patients) had scalp lesions, and 6.8% (nine patients) had nasal fractures. There was no statistically significant relationship between NLR, GCS, and age of the patients. There was no statistically significant difference between the CT findings of the patients in terms of NLR measurements.

CONCLUSION

Although NLR values increased in patients with mild head trauma, no statistically significant increase was observed. No significant difference was found between NLR values when the cases were grouped according to CT findings.