Correlation of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio with disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis

Background: Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is reported to be increased in various inflammatory conditions, but its significance in RA remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether NLR can be used as a simple tool for disease activity assessment in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Aim: The aim was to assess the NLR in RA patients and compare between active cases and those in remission. Materials and Methods: The study enrolled 150 diagnosed RA patients. Disease activity was determined with the Disease Activity Score (DAS-28), and the correlation of NLR with disease activity was analyzed. Results: NLR, C-reactive protein (CRP), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were found to be significantly high in RA patients. Further, NLR correlated positively with CRP, ESR, and worsening DAS score. Conclusion: Our study concludes that NLR can become a readily available and cost-effective tool for disease assessment in RA in future.