Predictive value of elevated neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio for left ventricular systolic dysfunction in patients with non ST-elevated acute coronary syndrome

Objective: We aimed to study the predictive value of the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) for left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) in patients with non ST-elevated acute coronary syndrome (NST-ACS). Methods: A total of 405 patients (mean age 62 years and 75% male) with NST-ACS were included in the study. The study population was divided into tertiles based on admission NLR values. The low, medium and high tertiles defined as NLR <= 1.81 (n=135), 1.81<NLR <=.3.2 (n=135) and NLR>3.2 (n=135), respectively. Results: The patients in the high NLR group were older (p<0.001), have higher rate of diabetes mellitus (p=0.028) and non-ST elevated myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) (p<0.001) and have lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (p<0.001). Baseline WBC (p=0.02) and neutrophil (p<0.001) levels and NLR (p<0.001) were significantly higher, baseline hemoglobin (p=0.044), hematocrit (p=0.019) and lymphocyte (p<0.001) levels were significantly lower in the high NLR group. NLR was negatively correlated with LVEF in correlation analysis. An NLR >3.2 and age >= 70 were found to be an independent predictor of systolic dysfunction in multivariate analyses. Conclusion: An NLR >3.2 is a useful predictor for LVSD in patients with NST-ACS. The practice of using an NLR count on admission may be useful for identifying high-risk patients and their associated treatment methods.