Value of Blood Neutrophil Lymphocyte Ratio as a Marker in Children with Bronchiectasis and Interstitial Lung Diseases

Abstract

he terminology of pediatric ―chronic lung diseases include abnormalities in airways, lung parenchyma, blood vessels or pleura. Their causes may result from congenital parenchymal lung defects (such as congenital lobar emphysema, congenital cystic lung, sequestrated lobes…), airway disease (such as bronchiectasis, primary ciliary dyskinesia, cystic fibrosis…) or acquired interstitial lung diseases. Pulmonary exacerbations are a major cause of morbidity and decreased quality of life for patients with chronic lung diseases. The NLR is a simple, inexpensive inflammatory marker and it can be calculated from complete blood counts by dividing the absolute neutrophil count by the absolute lymphocyte count from a complete blood count. Previous studies showed that the NLR is an independent indicator of mortality in patients with cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, studies of patients with malignancies such as hepatocellular carcinoma, lung cancer and breast cancer showed that the NLR may be a useful prognostic factor. In this cross sectional study, we measured NLR among children with bronchiectasis and ILD during stable and exacerbation.