The relationship between mean platelet volume and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio with inflammation and proteinuria in chronic kidney disease

Background Mean platelet volume (MPV) and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) are particularly useful as inflammatory markers. The goal of this study was to see if there was a correlation of MPV and NLR with inflammatory markers in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages II, III, IV, and V. Patients and methods We conducted a case–control study with patients with established CKD who were recruited from the Internal Medicine Department's nephrology unit. The participants in this study comprised 120 patients with CKD at various stages and 30 healthy volunteers. Results Patients with CKD had a significantly higher NLR than the control group (2.94 ± 0.62 vs. 1.76 ± 0.13, respectively, P = 0.001). The average MPV, on the contrary, did not change significantly between the groups (P = 0.18). There was no statistically significant difference between stages in terms of MPV, although NLR was much lower in stage II patients than in other stages. NLR had a positive relationship with fibrinogen (r = 0.23; P = 0.001), C-reactive protein (r = 0.28; P = 0.001), creatinine (r = 0.24; P = 0.001), urea (r = 0.21; P = 0.001), uric acid (r = 0.11; P = 0.05), and proteinuria (r = 0.31; P = 0.004). Conclusion NLR (rather than MPV) may be employed as a biomarker of inflammation, a risk factor for proteinuria, and a practical predictor of CKD prognosis.