Neutrophil-To-Lymphocyte Ratio Predicts 3-Month Outcome of Acute Ischemic Stroke

Increasing evidences have demonstrated that inflammation is involved in the mechanisms of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). As an important and easy-to-measure inflammatory marker, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) shows a high association with mortality in patients with stroke in recent studies. In this study, we evaluated the prognostic role of NLR in patients with AIS. One hundred forty-three patients with AIS were enrolled. Clinical data were collected and the NLR was calculated from the admission blood work. The patients were followed up for 3 months after stroke onset. The occurrence of death and the major disability at 3 months after onset were end points in this study. Modified Rankin Scale score ≥3 was considered as poor outcome. In this study, 75 patients (52%) had poor outcome. We used binary logistic regression model to evaluate risk factor for poor outcome of AIS and found that the NLR was independently associated with the poor outcome of 3 months (P < 0.001). The optimal cutoff value for NLR as a predictor for 3-month outcome was 2.995. Therefore, in our study, high NLRs inversely predicted 3-month outcome in patients with AIS.