Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte and Platelet-to-lymphocyte Ratios as a Predictor Factors for Chronic Kidney Disease Progression

Chronic inflammation is closely associated with various chronic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and chronic kidney disease (CKD) (1). Patients with CKD tend to have elevated levels of inflammatory mediators, including high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha), and interleukin (IL)-6 (2).These mediators stimulate inflammatory pathway, leading to glomerular hypertension, tubulointerstitial fibrosis, kidney scarring, and, finally, CKD progression and increased cardiovascular events (3,4). Therefore, it is important to evaluate and decrease the extent of chronic inflammation in patients with CKD. Patients with CKD have higher levels of proinflammatory cytokines, but it remains unclear which biomarker is the best indicator of inflammation in patients with CKD.

The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), obtained by dividing the absolute number of neutrophils to the lymphocyte count, is increasingly studied as a new inflammatory marker. An elevated NLR has recently been reported to be an independent predictor of mortality in patients with cardiovascular disease or cancer [5-8]. As CKD is a chronic inflammatory disease, high NLR can predict CKD progression, cardiovascular disease and cancer. However, significantly few studies have investigated the association between high NLR and CKD progression [9-12].

Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) has recently been recognized as a novel inflammatory marker and has been shown to be associated with the prognosis in CKD patients [13].

In 2012, Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcome (KDIGO) classified CKD in six categories by GFR estimation (in mL/min/1.73 m2).