Diagnostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in emergency department patients diagnosed with acute pancreatitis

Purpose: Decreased lymphocyte count and increased neutrophil count may be associated with severe sepsis, bacteremia, and surgical stress. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) may be used to assess inflammatory conditions and surgery. We evaluated whether NLR may be useful in the differentiation between biliary and nonbiliary acute pancreatitis. Material and Methods: Data from patients aged > 18 years who were diagnosed with acute pancreatitis between January 2011 and July 2014 were evaluated retrospectively. Patients were grouped as having biliary or nonbiliary pancreatitis. The white blood cell, neutrophil, and lymphocyte counts and NLR were evaluated and compared between the 2 groups. Results: In the 225 patients with acute pancreatitis (mean age, 59±18 y; 81 male patients [36%]), most patients had biliary pancreatitis (biliary, 144 patients [64%]; nonbiliary, 81 patients [36%]). Frequency of hypertension and mean arterial pressure were lower in patients who had biliary than nonbiliary pancreatitis. The mean white blood cell, neutrophil, and platelet counts were greater in patients who had nonbiliary than biliary pancreatitis. Conclusions: Although the NLR was increased in acute pancreatitis, there were no differences in NLR between patients who had biliary or nonbiliary acute pancreatitis. Therefore, the NLR is not useful in differentiating biliary from nonbiliary acute pancreatitis.