Utility of Platelet-to-lymphocyte Ratio to Support the Diagnosis of Acute Deep Vein Thrombosis

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate whether routine complete blood count parameters such as the mean platelet volume, red cell distribution width, white blood cell and platelet counts, and novel inflammatory biomarkers such as platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio could be used as the predictors of acute deep vein thrombosis.

Methods: This retrospective study included a total of 68 patients (29 males, 39 females; mean age 55.2±1.6 years; range, 22 to 80 years) with acute lower extremity deep vein thrombosis and 34 healthy controls (15 males, 19 females; mean age 52.8±2.5 years; range, 21 to 77 years) without acute lower extremity deep vein thrombosis between March 2016 and August 2018. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the participant and laboratory data including complete blood count parameters were recorded. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify significant predictors of deep vein thrombosis.

Results: Demographic and clinical characteristics were similar between the groups. According to the univariate analysis, platelet count and red cell distribution width were found to be significantly higher in the patient group compared to the control group. However, the red cell distribution width was not considered a significant predictor of acute deep vein thrombosis. According to the multivariate logistic regression analysis, the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet count were significant predictors of acute deep vein thrombosis.

Conclusion: Our study results show that the platelet-tolymphocyte ratio may be a useful biomarker to support the diagnosis of acute deep vein thrombosis.