New inflammatory parameters in laryngopharyngeal reflux.

Abstract

To investigate new inflammatory markers in patients with laryngopharyngeal reflux and determine whether these inflammatory parameters change in response to laryngopharyngeal reflux treatment. Complete blood count was evaluated to obtain platelet count and mean platelet volume and calculate neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio. Laryngopharyngeal reflux patients underwent three-month lansoprazole treatment. The study included 45 laryngopharyngeal reflux patients (9 men (20 per cent); mean age, 37.4 ± 11.6 years) and 35 healthy age- and sex-matched controls (7 men (20 per cent); mean age, 38.6 ± 8.9 years). The study group had significantly higher platelet-to-lymphocyte ratios and lower mean platelet volumes than the control group (p = 0.004 and p = 0.047, respectively). There was a significant correlation between platelet-to-lymphocyte ratios and initial inflammatory symptoms (reflux symptom index, p = 0.025; reflux finding score, p = 0.013). There was also a significant correlation between mean platelet volume increase and symptom resolution in the first and third months of treatment (p = 0.04 and p = 0.03, respectively). Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, a new inflammatory marker of chronic inflammation, was significantly higher in laryngopharyngeal reflux patients. Moreover, these patients had significantly lower mean platelet volume values, which increased with post-treatment symptom improvement.