Diagnostic utility of inflammatory ratios and nutritional scores in acute mesenteric ischemia: A retrospective single-center study.

Abstract

Objective: Acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) is a rare but highly fatal vascular emergency. Due to its non-specific clinical presentation, early diagnosis remains a major challenge. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic utility of selected inflammatory ratios and nutritional scores in differentiating AMI from other causes of acute abdominal pain.

Material and methods: This retrospective, single-center study included 40 patients diagnosed with AMI and 40 control patients who presented with non-specific abdominal pain and had no definitive diagnosis. Preoperative laboratory parameters obtained upon emergency admission were analyzed. Calculated indices included neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), prognostic nutritional index (PNI), C-reactive protein (CRP)-to-albumin ratio (CAR), and CRP-to-LDH ratio (CLDR), among others. Group comparisons, Pearson correlation analyses, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed.

Results: Compared to controls, AMI patients showed significantly elevated levels of NLR, PLR, SII, CAR, and CLDR, and significantly lower levels of PNI (p<0.05). ROC analysis revealed that SII [area under the curve (AUC) =0.89], NLR (AUC =0.86), and PNI (AUC =0.81) demonstrated the strongest diagnostic performance. Several indices were found to be strongly correlated, Including NLR with SII and CAR with CLDR. The observed mortality rate in the AMI group was 52.5%.

Conclusion: Inflammatory and nutritional markers, particularly SII, NLR, and PNI, appear to offer valuable diagnostic support in identifying AMI. These indices may help prioritize patients for advanced imaging and early intervention, especially in resource-limited emergency settings. Further prospective multicenter studies are needed to confirm their clinical utility.