Physiological Implications of Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the physiological significance of Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio in inflammatory responses and clinical outcomes of COPD.

Methodology: A case control study that was conducted at Medicine Department of Muhammad Medical College Mirpurkhas, Pakistan, from April 2022 to June 2022. All the patients aged 40 years and above, both gender, clinically diagnosed as patients of COPD and healthy individuals without pulmonary or systemic inflammatory conditions (controls) were included. A 5ml blood sample was obtained from each case and immediately was send to diagnostic laboratory for complete blood count test to assess the neutrophils and lymphocytes. Data was analyzed using GraphPad Prism 9 software, with statistical significance determined by Fischer’s exact test (p ? 0.05).

Results: The average age of the case group (n = 150) was 59 years, while the control group was around 53 years old. 83.33% of the COPD participants had an NLR greater than 3, and 16.67% had an NLR less than 3. The p-value of 0.0001 indicates a statistically significant difference between the groups. The odds ratio was 0.07027.

Conclusion: A significant relationship was observed between an elevated Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) and COPD, with COPD patients showing higher neutrophil levels compared to the general population. Easily evaluated and with strong association with disease progression, NLR can serve as an effective marker for routine clinical assessments in COPD patients.