DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2019.v07i02.025

Pages: 552-557

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in most industrialized societies. Inflammation plays a substantial role in the initiation and propagation of the complex atherosclerotic process that lies beneath the cardiovascular diseases. High platelet and low lymphocyte counts have been suggested to be indicators of worse cardiovascular outcomes. Platelet to lymphocyte ratio is a new prognostic marker that integrates the risk prediction of these two parameters into one. We aimed to explore the association of platelet count, lymphocyte count and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) with the severity of atherosclerosis in coronary artery disease. Clinical and laboratory data of 100 patients who underwent coronary angiography were evaluated retrospectively. Gensini score, which indicates the severity of atherosclerosis, was calculated for all the patients. Patients with CAD were categorized as mild and severe atherosclerosis, according to their Gensini score. Twenty three patients with normal coronary arteries formed the control group. Platelet count, Lymphocyte count and mean PLR values of the three study groups were compared. The platelet count correlated positively with the severity of atherosclerosis, while the lymphocyte count correlated inversely with the severity of atherosclerosis. The mean PLR of the severe atherosclerosis group was significantly higher (223.89 + 41.56) than that of the mild atherosclerosis group (176 + 45.82) and control groups (104.17 + 22.47) (p=0.001). Also, PLR correlated positively with Gensini score in CAD patients. A cut- off value of 176.5 for PLR predicted severe atherosclerosis with 94.1 % sensitivity and 77.6% specificity. Our study suggests that high PLR appears to be additive to the conventional risk factors and the commonly used biomarkers in predicting severe atherosclerosis.