Is It Possible to Use Inflammatory Markers as Potential Biomarkers for Chronic Urticaria?

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to determine whether the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) at admission affect the transition of pediatric patients diagnosed with acute spontaneous urticaria to chronic urticaria. Methods: This study included 390 patients who presented to the Department of Pediatrics at Akdeniz University Hospital with acute spontaneous urticaria between January 2020 and December 2022. A statistical comparison was made between the hematological parameters of patients who developed chronic urticaria and those who did not. Neutrophil, lymphocyte, and platelet counts, as well as NLR, PLR, and SII ratios, were used for the comparison. Results: It was observed that acute urticaria progressed to chronic urticaria in 5.8% (n = 23) of the patients. No significant differences in lymphocyte, hemoglobin, and platelet counts were observed between the group progressing to chronic urticaria and the control group (P > 0.05). However, the chronic urticaria group had higher leukocyte and absolute neutrophil counts (P = 0.009 and P < 0.001, respectively). In addition, the NLR was significantly higher in the chronic urticaria group (P = 0.029), whereas no statistically significant difference was observed in the PLR (P = 0.180). The chronic urticaria group had a significantly higher SII than the control group (P = 0.011). Conclusion: Hematological parameters, particularly NLR and SII, may be useful indicators of the transition from acute to chronic urticaria in pediatric patients. The early identification of these markers could help monitor patients and guide treatment decisions. Further comprehensive studies are required to validate these findings.