Neutrophil Lymphocyte Ratio in Estimating Response to Corticosteroid Treatment in Immune Thrombocytopenia Patients

Introduction: We aimed to investigate the association between neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and response and loss of response to corticosteroid treatment in immune thrombocytopenia patients (ITP). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data of 47 ITP patients treated with corticosteroid therapy at Istanbul Training and Research Hospital Clinic of Hematology between 2007 and 2016. NLR was calculated using complete blood count of patients at the time of diagnosis. The cut-off score for NLR was determined at 2.5 according to median NLR level. Results: Twenty-three (48.9%) patients had NLR <2.5 and 24 (51.1%) patients had NLR >= 2.5. There was no statistically significant relationship between NLR and treatment response, response duration and loss of response (p=0.74, p=0.869, p=0.315, respectively). Conclusion: Although NLR was found to be associated with the prognosis and activity of various diseases in several studies, we could not verify such an association between NLR and response to corticosteroid therapy in ITP patients.