Kekilli, MuratTanoğlu, AlpaslanSakin, Yusuf SerdarKurt, MevlütÖcal, SerkanBağcı, Sait2019-05-132019-05-132015Kekilli, M., Tanoğlu, A., Sakin, Y. S., Kurt, M., Öcal, S., Bağcı S. (2015). Is theneutrophil to lymphocyte ratio associated with liver fibrosis inpatients with chronic hepatitis B? World Journal of Gastroenterology, 21(18), 5575-5581.1007-9327https://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v21.i18.5575https://hdl.handle.net/11491/1169AIM: To determine the association between the neutrophil to lymphocyte (N/L) ratio and the degree of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection. METHODS: Between December 2011 and February 2013, 129 consecutive CHB patients who were admitted to the study hospitals for histological evaluation of chronic hepatitis B-related liver fibrosis were included in this retrospective study. The patients were divided into two groups based on the fibrosis score: individuals with a fibrosis score of F0 or F1 were included in the "no/minimal liver fibrosis" group, whereas patients with a fibrosis score of F2, F3, or F4 were included in the "advanced liver fibrosis" group. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences 18.0 for Windows was used to analyze the data. A P value of < 0.05 was accepted as statistically significant. RESULTS: Three experienced and blinded pathologists evaluated the fibrotic status and inflammatory activity of 129 liver biopsy samples from the CHB patients. Following histopathological examination, the "no/minimal fibrosis" group included 79 individuals, while the "advanced fibrosis" group included 50 individuals. Mean (N/L) ratio levels were notably lower in patients with advanced fibrosis when compared with patients with no/minimal fibrosis. The mean value of the aspartate aminotransferase-platelet ratio index was markedly higher in cases with advanced fibrosis compared to those with no/minimal fibrosis. CONCLUSION: Reduced levels of the peripheral blood N/L ratio were found to give high sensitivity, specificity and predictive values in CHB patients with significant fibrosis. The prominent finding of our research suggests that the N/L ratio can be used as a novel noninvasive marker of fibrosis in patients with CHB. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessChronic Hepatitis BFibrotic StageInflammatory ActivityLiver FibrosisNeutrophil to Lymphocyte RatioNon-Invasive MarkerArticle21185575558110.3748/wjg.v21.i18.5575N/AQ1