Correlation Between Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio and Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio with Risk Stratification Indicators and Thrombus Burden in Patients with Moderate-to-High Risk Acute Pulmonary Embolism, and Changes After Treatment

Abstract

Objective To investigate the correlation between neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and risk stratification indicators as well as thrombus burden in patients with moderate-to-high risk acute pulmonary embolism (APE), and to assess the changes in these parameters following interventional therapy. Methods This study retrospectively included patients with moderate-to-high risk APE who were admitted to the Department of Interventional Vascular Surgery at Putian First Hospital from May 2020 to May 2024. All patients received anticoagulation therapy, pulmonary artery catheter-directed thrombolysis, and/or mechanical thrombectomy. Patients were further divided into subgroup A if they did not present with any of the following conditions at admission: a) acute inflammatory diseases (including lung infections); b) malignant tumors; c) history of trauma or surgery within the past 2 months. Patients with any of the aforementioned conditions were classified as subgroup B. Additionally, 50 healthy individuals were randomly selected as the healthy control group. Results The NLR and PLR in subgroup A were significantly lower than those in subgroup B ( P .05), or between the N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP)-negative and NT-proBNP-positive groups ( P > .05). There were no significant correlations between NLR and PLR with risk stratification indicators and pulmonary artery embolism index ( P > .05). Compared with before treatment, NLR, troponin I, NT-proBNP, right ventricular diameter/left ventricular diameter ratio, and pulmonary artery embolism index were significantly reduced after treatment ( P .05). Conclusion Elevated NLR in patients with APE, which decreases after effective treatment, may be used for assessing disease status and treatment efficacy. However, there is no correlation between NLR and risk stratification indicators or thrombus burden. PLR does not demonstrate significant value in assessing APE.