Increased neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio with organ involvement in ANCA-associated vasculitis: a retrospective study

Background Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) have been used to estimate disease activity in many diseases. Our study aims to determine the role of NLR and PLR in evaluating vasculitis activity and specific organ involvement in antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV). Methods We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 81 AAV patients. Clinical characteristics, laboratory investigations and Birmingham vasculitis activity score (BVAS) were collected. Correlation analysis was performed between NLR/PLR and BVAS. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was calculated for differentiating organ involvement. Results Both NLR and PLR were positively correlated with BVAS in AAV patients. AAV patients with pulmonary, cardiac or renal involvement exhibited higher levels of NLR and PLR than those without pulmonary, cardiac or renal involvement. Notably, area under curves (AUC) of NLR and PLR for differentiating cardiac involvement were 0.79 (95% CI: 0.53–0.95) and 0.77 (95% CI: 0.49–0.94), respectively. Conclusions NLR and PLR showed favorable performance in accessing vasculitis activity and specific organ involvement in AAV patients.