The evaluation of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio as a novel marker in patients with pterygium

ABS TRACT Objective: To evaluate the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as an indicator of inflammation in patients with pterygium and to compare data with those of healthy subjects. Materials and Methods: Two hundred patients who underwent pterygium surgery (study group) and 200 age-matched subjects who underwent strabismus surgery in our clinic (control group) were included in this study. Patients with any ocular and systemic infection history and previously undergoing surgery for pterygia and recurrent pterygia were excluded from the study. Neutrophil and lymphocyte counts of all participants were recorded from all blood samples taken before surgery retrospectively. The NLR was calculated by dividing the neutrophil counts by the lymphocyte counts and compared between groups. Normality of data was analyzed with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. An independent t-test was used to compare variables between the study and control groups. Results: The mean age was 52.61±13.35 and 51.86±14.42 years in the study and control groups, respectively (p=0.58). The neutrophil count was 4.18±1.28 in study group and 4.17±1.37 in control group. The lymphocyte count was 2.11±0.55 in study group and 2.17±0.72 in control group. There was no significant difference between groups in terms of neutrophil, lymphocyte counts and NLR (p=0.91, p=0.36, p=0.54 respectively). Conclusion: In our study, the NLR seems not to be an independent predictor of pterygium disease.