Abstract
Introduction: Lupus nephritis (LN) is a significant source of morbidity in cases with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The efficiency of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as an inflammatory marker has been investigated in many diseases.
Objectives: In the present study, the clinical significance of NLR in SLE patients with nephritis was investigated.
Patients and Methods: A total of 100 SLE patients including 20 and 80 patients with and without nephritis, respectively, and 140 controls were included in this investigation. Clinical findings and laboratory data of whole participants were reported. Inflammatory indices [e.g., erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), and NLR] were compared between patients and healthy controls and also between SLE patients with and without nephritis.
Results: NLR value was significantly higher in SLE patients [2.81 (1.57-16.07)] compared to controls [1.45 (1.01-4.43)] and in SLE without nephritis [2.60 (1.50-13)] compared to SLE with nephritis [5.82 (3.75-16.07)] (P < 0.001). Based on the ROC/area under curve (AUC) analysis, NLR reflected SLE disease with AUC of 0.904, cut off value of 1.98, 86.2% sensitivity, and 82% specificity. Additionally, NLR with a cut-off value of 3.64 and AUC of 0.935 indicated good sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 81.25% for discriminating SLE patients with and without nephritis.
Conclusion: NLR could be considered as a discriminative parameter for SLE patients and for LN. Further investigations are required to consider NLR as an inflammatory parameter.