Exploring the utility of cellular indices in the diagnosis of ulcerative colitis

Aim

To describe the usefulness of cellular indices in the diagnosis of ulcerative colitis (UC).

Methods

Diagnostic study of patients under 15 years of age undergoing colonoscopy ± esophagogastroduodenoscopy for suspected inflammatory bowel disease between 2015 and 2022 in a pediatric hospital. Patients with normal biopsy and anatomopathological diagnosis of UC were included. Using the area under the ROC curve, the values of platelet–lymphocyte ratio (PLR), neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and monocyte–lymphocyte ratio (MLR), calculated by dividing the number of platelets, neutrophils, and monocytes by the number of lymphocytes, respectively, were compared to establish the sensitivity, specificity, predictive values and odds ratio of each parameter in the diagnosis of UC.

Results

Twenty-six patients were included: 14 with normal biopsy and 12 with UC. PLR and MLR values were significantly higher in patients with UC (p < 0.05). The sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value of PLR, NLR and MLR for diagnosing UC were 58%, 83% and 91%; 85%, 35% and 50%; 70%, 71% and 87%, respectively. The biomarker with the highest diagnostic performance was MLR with a cutoff point of 0.235, area under the curve of 0.735 and odds ratio of 11 (95% CI 1.1–109.6; p = 0.041).

Conclusions

MLR has a high sensitivity, negative predictive value, and odds ratio in the pre-endoscopic diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. These findings, although exploratory, suggest that MLR could be useful in clinical practice in the initial diagnostic workup of UC, and perhaps in the future in the prioritization of endoscopic studies according to MLR values.