Contribution of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio to decisions regarding sur-gical therapy in patients diagnosed with intestinal obstruction.

BackgroundNeutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been reported to be a valuable diagnostic tool in the decision-making process for surgical procedures in cases requiring urgent intervention. It was also reported that NLR could be used as an independent predictor of septic shock, hospitalization in the intensive care unit, and death in patients with a liver abscess. This study aimed to investigate the contribution of the NLR, which is a cheap and easily calculable marker, to decisions regarding surgical therapy in patients with intestinal obstruction (IO).MethodsNinety-one patients hospitalized with IO were enrolled in this retrospective study. There were two groups: a surgical therapy group and a conservative therapy group. Complete blood count (CBC) parameters and NLR values were statistically evaluated to determine whether there was any difference between the groups.ResultsThe results obtained from the initial CBC tests were compared between the patients receiving surgical therapy (n =30) and conservative therapy (n =61). There was no statistically significant difference in white blood cell counts between the groups (p =0.225). However, there was a statistically significant difference in NLR values between the patients receiving surgical and conservative therapy (p =0.023).ConclusionSimilar to previous studies investigating other inflammation criteria, we found that high NLR values were statistically significant in favor of the surgical therapy group in determining the need for surgery in ileus cases. The data obtained in our study demonstrate that the NLR measurement contributes to early decision-making concerning surgical therapy in patients with IO at the time of their initial admission to the emergency department. HIPPOKRATIA 2019, 23(4): 160-164.