An exploration of the value of NLR, PLR, LMR, and WBC × CRP for the diagnosis and treatment of influenza B in adults.

The aim of the study was to study the diagnostic and therapeutic utility of NLR (neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio), LWR (lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio), PLR (platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio), and WBC × CRP (WBC: white cell count, CRP: C-reactive protein) in patients with influenza B. This retrospective study included 122 adult patients with influenza B, 176 adult patients with bacterial infection, and 119 adult healthy physical examinees for routine blood examination and CRP testing, calculation of NLR, LMR, PLR, and WBC × CRP for relevant statistical analysis, monitoring of NLR, LMR, PLR and WBC × CRP in patients with influenza B during relevant treatment. All indicators, except for WBC and NLR, had no statistical differences between the influenza B group, the normal control group, and the influenza B group and bacterial infection group, respectively, and showed no statistical significance for the differences between the groups. The diagnostic effect of LMR and WBC × CRP was deemed good or excellent in patients with influenza B, healthy people, and patients with a bacterial infection. Conversely, NLR and PLR could only distinguish patients with influenza B from healthy people but remained unable to identify different pathogens. Moreover, many false negatives were noted for WBC and CRP during the diagnosis of influenza B. Also, NLR, LMR, PLR, and WBC × CRP exerted a good effect in evaluating curative effect and conditions for influenza B. LMR and WBC × CRP have a relatively high value in the early diagnosis of adults suffering from influenza B. Also, NLR and PLR excelled at differentiating adult patients with influenza B from healthy people. Therefore, NLR, PLR, LMR, and WBC × CRP can all be used for disease course monitoring and efficacy evaluation.

The Application of the EP9-A Protocol in the Analysis of the Performance of the Immunofluorescence Assay for HCG Detection.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to evaluate the comparability of the results of two methodologies for detecting human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) to assess whether the immunofluorescence method for detecting HCG is adequate for clinical applications. METHODS: Referring to the protocol requirements of the American Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) EP9-A2 (methodological matching and bias assessment with patient samples), we collected 40 fresh serum specimens from our outpatients and inpatients, including 20 specimens with abnormal HCG concentrations (eight samples with different concentration ranges were selected daily and HCG was measured simultaneously with the two testing systems for five consecutive days). The assays were performed on a Dxl 800 fully automated immunoassay analyzer from Beckman Coulter Inc., USA, as a comparative method and on a Jet-iStar 3000 immunoassay analyzer from Zhonghan Shengtai Inc. as an experimental method. Methodological comparison and bias assessment of the results of the two methods for HCG detection were performed. The OLR regression model was used for calculating bias and regression analysis, and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was used for correlation analysis. The correlation and comparability of the two systems were calculated based on the results of the analysis. RESULTS: A good correlation in HCG results in the range of 5-50,000 U/mL was obtained from the two assay systems (r = 0.998) with the regression equation of y = 1.020x + 12.96. The estimated deviation was within the permissible deviation and acceptable. CONCLUSION: The results of HCG measurement by the two different assay systems were well correlated and comparable.