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Relationship between neutrophil‐lymphocyte, platelet‐lymphocyte ratio and disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis treated with rituximab
Author(s) -
Sargin Gokhan,
Senturk Taskin,
Yavasoglu Irfan,
Kose Reyhan
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
international journal of rheumatic diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.795
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1756-185X
pISSN - 1756-1841
DOI - 10.1111/1756-185x.13400
Subject(s) - medicine , erythrocyte sedimentation rate , rituximab , rheumatoid arthritis , neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio , gastroenterology , lymphocyte , platelet , immunology , lymphoma
Background Neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio ( NLR ) and platelet‐to‐lymphocyte ratio ( PLR ) may be used as indicators of inflammatory markers and disease activity due to inflammatory changes in neutrophils, platelets and lymphocytes. Our aim is to investigate the relationship between NLR , PLR ratio and disease activity in RA patients treated with rituximab. Methods Thirty‐eight patients (8 male, 30 female, mean age 56.8 ± 11.8 years) diagnosed with RA and 30 healthy controls were included in the study. Disease Activity Score of 28 joints ‐ erythrocyte sedimentation rate ( DAS 28‐ ESR ), lymphocyte, neutrophil, platelet counts, ESR , C‐reactive protein ( CRP ), PLR , and NLR were evaluated before and after rituximab in RA patients. The relationship between all parameters was assessed by Pearson's correlation, Wilcoxon signed‐rank, Mann‐Whitney U and paired t tests. Results The levels of CRP , ESR , and DAS 28‐ ESR decreased significantly at 6 months of rituximab treatment compared to pre‐treatment. NLR and PLR ratios were higher in patients with RA than the control group. The median levels were 33.5 mm/hour, 5.7 mg/ dL , and 3.7 respectively after 6 months of rituximab treatment. And, the levels were lower than baseline treatment. There was a significant correlation between the levels of DAS 28‐ ESR and NLR , DAS 28‐ ESR and PLR before and after treatment. Conclusions The NLR and PLR were higher than healthy controls and correlated with DAS 28‐ ESR in patients with RA . These parameters which are indicative of disease activity decrease with rituximab and correlate with disease activity at 6 months. The NLR and PLR may be useful indices to evaluate RA disease activity treated with rituximab.