The following is a summary of “Association Between the Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio and Prognosis of Patients Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit With Chronic Heart Failure: A Retrospective Cohort Study,” published in the August 2023 issue of Critical Care by Che et al.

Researchers performed a retrospective study investigating the link between the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and prognosis in critically ill chronic heart failure patients.

They extracted data from 5,298 eligible patients from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV database, focused on the NLR and its connection to 30-day and 90-day all-cause mortality. Employing multivariable logistic regression, NLR’s relationship with 30-day mortality. Subgroup analysis assessed variations in this association across different subgroups.

The results showed after adjusting for multiple confounders, the OR (95% CI) for 30-day mortality was 1.52 (1.13-2.03) for the second tertile (NLR 4.0-8.4) and 2.53 (1.92-3.34) for the third tertile (NLR ≥8.4), compared to the first tertile (NLR <4.0). For 90-day mortality, the OR was 1.34 (1.07-1.67) for the second tertile and 2.23 (1.81-2.76) for the third tertile, relative to the reference (NLR <4.0). Notably, significant interactions between the sepsis subgroup and 30-day mortality were observed.

They concluded that NLR is an independent predictor of mortality in critically ill patients.

Source: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37586709/