The role of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in predicting disease progression and emergency surgery indication in benign intestinal obstructions

BACKGROUND: The physiological response of the immune system to various stress factors results in an increase in neutrophil count and a decrease in lymphocyte count. In the light of this information, some studies have suggested using the ratio of these two parameters as an infection marker. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) derived from complete blood count, a very cost-effective and rapidly measurable parameter, in predicting the urgency of the surgical indication and disease progression in intestinal obstructions secondary to benign causes. METHODS: The data of patients who were admitted with the diagnosis of intestinal obstruction secondary to benign causes and underwent surgical intervention between January 2010 and January 2021 in Başkent University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of General Surgery, Konya Practice and Research Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. The data of 109 patients who met the study criteria and were included in the study were statistically analyzed. The correlation of admission NLR with factors indicating the severity of the disease such as intraoperatively detected ischemia, perforation, resection requirement, post-operative morbidity and mortality, and length of hospital stay was examined. Moreover, the diagnostic value of the NLR was compared with that of other infection markers (such as C-reactive protein [CRP] and leukocyte). RESULTS: It was observed that the high NLR during admission to the hospital due to benign intestinal obstruction causes significantly increased the risk of ischemia, resection requirement, post-operative complications, and mortality during surgery (p<0.05). Furthermore, increased NLR was found to be associated with prolonged hospitalization. In correlation analysis, consistent with the literature, a positive correlation was found between NLR and hospitalization time (p=0.03), CRP value (p<0.001), ischemia (p<0.001), perforation (p=0.007), presence of post-operative complications (p=0.009), and mortality (p=0.002). CONCLUSION: Our results show that the NLR has a very important role in predicting the course of the disease and surgical indication in benign intestinal obstructions.