The advantage of platelet to lymphocyte ratio over neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio as novel markers of erythropoietin resistance in hemodialysis patients

Abstract

Inflammation, as one of the common factors contributing to erythropoietin treatment resistance, is lately being assessed by using new markers of inflammation, which are platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR). Their association with this therapy has not been fully investigated. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the relationship between PLR, NLR and erythropoietin therapy responsiveness. Methods: A cross sectional study included 90 hemodialysis patients who underwent physical examination, biochemical analysis and calculation of erythropoietin hyporesponsiveness index (EHRI). Results: It is shown that EHRI has a statistically significant positive correlation with PLR (p < 0.01) and negative correlation with hemoglobin levels (p < 0.01). Significant differences for logarithmically converted EHRI and PLR (p < 0.05) have been found but not for EHRI and NLR (p=0.13). Conclusion: 4 PLR, together with NLR could be used in assessing not only inflammation, but also erythropoietin resistance in hemodialysis patients.