Neutrophyl to lymphocyte ratio and c reactive protein are indipendent predictors of severe coronary artery disease: comparison with hydroperoxides and consolidated inflammatory markers.

Several inflammatory factors have been determined as indicators of coronary artery disease (CAD) and recently some studies showed neutrophyl to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as a powerful predictor. The aim of this study was to evaluate NLR, comparing it with the consolidate inflammatory and oxidative stress marker in a group of control and CAD patients. Twenty healthy subjects and 47 patients, that were affected by 1-4 compromised coronary arteries, were enrolled in the study. All subjects were classified into 3 groups on the base of NLR tertile. The efficacy of NLR as indicator of the severity of CAD and its association with inflammatory markers were analyzed. According to the tertile of NLR, patients in the high NLR value had higher % of males, number of compromise coronary arteries, CRP levels, neutrophyl count, and low lymphocyte count. Moreover NLR and CRP levels showed to be independent predictors of 3-4 compromised coronary arteries. The ROC curve analysis showed that CRP and NLR markers had the largest area under the curve (AUC = 0,85, 95% CI: 0,74-0,96, p = 0,000; AUC = 0,81, 95% CI: 0,66-0,96, p = 0,001). In conclusion our data indicate that only NLR and CRP are independent predictors for 3-4 compromised coronary arteries.