Nuetrophil-To-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) as a Predictor of Acute Appendicitis

Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of (NLR) neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio to prognosticate severe/ complicated appendicitis by taking histopathology of the appendix as a gold standard.Methodology: This cross-sectional validation study was conducted at the department of surgery and western vascular institute, University College Hospital Galway, Irelandretrospectively for a period of 6 months i.e. from 05/06/2016 to 05/01/2016. For sampling in this study, non-probability purposive convenience technique was used. An informed consent was taken from each patient. All data were analyzed on SPSS version 21.Results: The mean age of patients in this study was 29.15±9.54 years, the ratio of male to female was 1:1.7. The sensitivity, Specificity was 97.1% and 25.2% respectively and diagnostic accuracy of NLR was 38.7% taking histopathology as gold standard.Conclusion: According to our study results the (NLR) neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio is a highly sensitive tool to predict severe/ complicated appendicitis by taking histopathology as the gold standard, but with low value of diagnostic accuracy in terms of specificity.