IBD: Neutrophils vs. lymphocytes (NLR) and platelets vs. lymphocytes (PLR) can be used as a new prognostic biomarker for mucosal healing in patients with ulcerative colitis

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Anti-TNFs are widely used to treat ulcerative colitis (UC)However, many patients lose their response in the first year of treatmentTherefore, early prediction indicators of clinical remission and mucosal healing are needed to judge efficacyNeutrophils vslymphocytes (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were the less common subclinical inflammatory indicators evaluated in UC patients treated with anti-TNFThe purpose of this multicenter study is to assess whether NLR and PLR can be used as prognostic indicators for anti-TNF treatment responsemethod: The researchers evaluated UC patients who started anti-TNF therapy in a single therapyThe researchers calculated pre- and post-treatment NLR, PLR, and fecal calcinUsing the Mann-Whitney U test, the values of NLR and PLR were associated with clinical remission and mucosal healing at the end of follow-up (54 weeks) and then multivariate analysisresults: This study included 88 patientsThe baseline NLR and PLR were lower in patients who reached mucosal healing after 54 weeks of treatment (P - 0.0001 and P - 0.04)Similar results were obtained in week 8 (P - 0.0001 and P - 0.001)The baseline NLR and PLR values were higher in patients with active ulcers in the baseline endoscope assessment than those who did not find ulcers (P - 0.002 and P - 0.0007)Conclusion: Both NLR and PLR show early predictive indicators of therapeutic response to anti-TNF treatment in UC patients