Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and platelet to lymphocyte ratio in conjunction with contrast-enhanced ultrasound for assessing inflammatory response and disease activity in cardiac involvement in Takayasu’s arteritis

AIM   To assess the utility of NLR, PLR, IMT and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) as predictive markers for monitoring inflammatory responses and the disease activity in cardiac involvement in Takayasu’s arteritis.

METHODS A cohort retrospective study encompassing 86 patients (43 with cardiac compromise and 43 without) was conducted. A comparative analysis of NLR, PLR, IMT, and CEUS between TA patients with and without cardiac compromise was undertaken.

RESULTS The NLR and PLR of the heart damage group were significantly higher than those of the non heart damage group (2.9 ± 1.0 vs. 2.1 ± 0.8, P<0.01; 166 ± 79 vs. 117 ± 51, P<0.01). The IMT and CEUS of the heart damage group were significantly higher than those of the TA non heart damage group (2.6 ± 0.6 vs. 1.5 ± 0.4, P<0.01; 2.6 ± 0.5 vs. 1.6 ± 0.6, P<0.01). The NLR level of the heart damage group was positively correlated with CRP (r=0.42, P<0.01), and PLR was positively correlated with CRP and CEUS (r=0.34, P<0.05; r=0.35, P<0.05). The results of multiple logistic regression analysis showed that NLR, IMT, and CEUS were independent risk factors for TA and cardiac damage. The area under the ROC curve for NLR to determine cardiac damage is 0.865, with a cut-off value of 2.265, a sensitivity of 69.8%, and a specificity of 90.7%. The area under the ROC curve for determining cardiac damage using PLR is 0.812, with a cut-off value of 111.275, a sensitivity of 76.7%, and a specificity of 79.1%.

CONCLUSION NLR and PLR, in conjunction with contrast-enhanced ultrasound, can be employed to assess inflammatory response and the disease activity in cardiac involvement in Takayasu’s arteritis.