Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, mean platelet volume and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio in Behcet's disease and their correlation with disease activity: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Aim We aimed to evaluate the relationship between mean platelet volume (MPV), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and Behcet's disease (BD). Methods We searched Medline, Embase, and Cochrane databases, and performed a meta-analysis to compare MPV, NLR, and PLR between patients with BD and healthy controls, and to evaluate these parameters in BD according to disease activity and thrombosis. Results In total, 14 studies were included. MPV was not higher in the BD group than in the control group (standardized mean difference [SMD], 0163; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.125 to 0.451; P = 0.268), while NLR was significantly higher in the BD group than in the control group (SMD, 1.176; 95% CI, 0.392-1.960, P = 0.003) and PLR showed a non-significant trend of association with BD (SMD, 0.441; 95% CI, -0.025 to 0.907, P = 0.063). MPV did not differ between patients with active and inactive BD (SMD, -0.129; 95% CI, -0.323 to 0.085, P = 0.191), and between patients with BD with and without thrombosis (SMD, 0.231; 95% CI, -0.155 to 0.617, P = 0.241). Conversely, NLR was significantly higher in patients with active BD than in those with inactive BD (SMD, 1.774; 95% CI, 0.179-3.368, P = 0.029), but not significantly higher in patients with BD with thrombosis than in those without thrombosis (SMD, 0.258; 95% CI, -0.277 to 0.792, P = 0.345). Conclusions This finding suggests that NLR may be a potential index to evaluate the disease activity of BD, although there are limitations of small number of studies and heterogeneity of individual characteristics.