Can Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte or Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio Be Used to Predict Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting in Breast Reduction?

Background/Objective Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is one of the most frequently seen complications in the postoperative period. In several studies, the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) or the thrombocyte-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) has been suggested as a parameter to be used in the diagnosis of inflammatory diseases. However, the literature provides no information about this relationship for breast reduction. This study aims to investigate whether preoperative NLR or PLR was an indicator of PONV and identify its relationship with antiemetic use. Methods In this study, hemogram values and antiemetic amounts taken within 24 hours were obtained retrospectively by scanning the files of the patients received breast reduction diagnosis and operation. The confounder effect was controlled using the Propensity Score Matching analysis to distribute the case-control groups similarly. The Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to determine whether NLR and PLR could be a prognostic indicator for PONV prediction. Sensitivity and specificity values were calculated after the ROC analysis to determine the success of the cut-off points. Results The success of NLR and PLR in discriminating PONV was found to be statistically significant (cut-off: 1.97, area under the curve (AUC)=0.697, p=0.001, cut-off: 137.2, AUC=0.743; p<0.001, respectively). In addition, the sensitivity of PLR (77.8%) in discriminating PONV was found to be higher in comparison to NLR (73.3%). Conclusions One of the factors decreasing patient care quality and satisfaction is PONV. The results of this study showed that preoperative NLR and PLR could be taken into consideration in antiemetic use required for the prevention of postoperative nausea-vomiting in breast-reduction operations.