A meta-analysis published in Current Rheumatology Review evaluated the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) compared with healthy controls.
The researchers conducted a systematic review of the Embase, Pubmed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases from inception to August 2020. In total, 182 studies were identified across all databases, and eleven studies with satisfactory quality were selected for meta-analysis.
The pooled difference in average NLR value between patients with AS compared to controls was 0.38 (95% confidence interval, 0.24-0.52; P <0.0001). The authors noted moderate heterogeneity between study populations and that publication bias was not significant.
In conclusion, the authors wrote, “Significantly higher amounts of NLR may be strongly indicative of underlying inflammation in AS.”
Source: Current Rheumatology Reviews https://www.eurekaselect.com/196691/article
