The usefulness of hematological parameters and cerebrospinal fluid indexes in the differential diagnosis of acute bacterial from viral meningitis.

Central nervous system (CNS) infection is a medical emergency with an important cause of mortality worldwide. The 79 patients with confirmed acute CNS infection (48 bacterial and 31 viral meningitis) were evaluated. Bacterial meningitis score, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)/serum glucose ratio, and CSF/serum albumin ratio had the highest area under the curves (0.873, 0.843, 0.810, respectively) for discriminating bacterial meningitis. Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and CSF lactate dehydrogenase have a good ability for the differential diagnosis of bacterial meningitis. CSF/serum glucose ratio, NLR (with a cut-off value> 8.87), large unstained cell, total protein, albumin, and procalcitonin levels were found to be predictors for mortality. NLR can be used as a biomarker to differentiate bacterial meningitis from viral meningitis and to predict the prognosis of CNS infection. CSF/serum albumin ratio and CSF lactate dehydrogenase can be used to predict bacterial meningitis as well as CSF/serum glucose ratio.

Nomograms Based on the Albumin/Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio Score for Predicting Coronary Artery Disease or Subclinical Coronary Artery Disease.

Purpose: To develop and validate two nomograms incorporating the albumin/neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio score (ANS) for predicting the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) or subclinical CAD. Patients and Methods: Four hundred fifty patients with suspected CAD who underwent coronary computed tomographic angiography were consecutively enrolled between September 2015 and June 2017. Nomograms were established based on independent predictors of CAD or subclinical CAD. Results: In total, 437 patients with suspected CAD who underwent coronary computed tomographic angiography were included. Male sex, age ≥65 years, smoking, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, ischemic stroke, and ANS were independent predictors of CAD and subclinical CAD. The areas under the curve of each nomogram were 0.799 (95% CI: 0.752-0.846) and 0.809 (95% CI: 0.762-0.856), respectively. The calibration curve and decision curve analysis showed good performance for the diagnostic nomograms. The prediction of CAD or subclinical CAD by the ANS was not modified by the independent predictors (all, p for interaction >0.05). Conclusion: Our ANS-based nomograms can provide accurate and individualized risk predictions for patients with suspected CAD or subclinical CAD.

Prognostic value of inflammation-based scores in patients receiving radical resection for colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: The modified Glasgow Prognostic Score (mGPS) and the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) are conventional inflammation-based scores for colorectal cancer (CRC). The systemic inflammation score (SIS) has been shown to be more informative than the mGPS in CRC. The albumin-NLR, composed of albumin and the NLR, can also be a candidate for a valuable inflammation score. However, about the utility of the mGPS, SIS, and albumin-NLR for CRC patients who have received radical resections remains unclear. METHODS: This study enrolled 877 CRC patients, who underwent radical surgical resection between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2014. The prognostic values of the mGPS, SIS, and albumin-NLR were compared by the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, multivariate Cox regression modelling, and the time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve analysis (ROC). RESULTS: In the Kaplan-Meier analysis, all three inflammation scores were significantly associated with overall survival (OS) in the group including all the patients (mGPS, p = 0.016; SIS, p < 0.001; albumin-NLR, p = 0.007) and in the left-sided colon tumour subgroup (mGPS, p = 0.029; SIS p = 0.0013; albumin-NLR, p = 0.001). In the right-sided colon tumour subgroup, only the albumin-NLR was associated with OS (p = 0.048). The albumin-NLR was the only independent prognostic factor of the three scores for OS in the multivariate survival analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The albumin-NLR outperformed both the SIS and mGPS in predicting OS in CRC patients undergoing radical resection.