Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio is associated with cardiovascular disease in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients have a high incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events, which is related to the inflammatory status of this population. Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) is a relatively new indicator of inflammation. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between PLR and the CVD events in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients. Methods: A total of 70 stable CAPD patients were included in this study from February 2014 to March 2017, and complete demographic characteristics and clinical laboratory baseline data were collected at enrollment. The primary endpoint was defined as the experienced of CVD events during the follow-up period. Binary logistic regression was used to assess the association between PLR and CVD events in CAPD patients. Results: During a median follow-up period of 22 months, 28 (40%) CAPD patients experienced CVD events. Patients in the CVD event group had a high level of platelets (P < 0.01), C-reactive protein (P < 0.01), PLR (P < 0.01) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (P < 0.01). However, lymphocyte counts (P < 0.01) were significantly lower than patients without CVD events. Following adjusted binary regression analysis revealed no relationship between high NLR and CVD events (OR, 1.21; 95% CI, 0.52-2.85; p = 0.44). However, the correlation between high PLR and CVD events was significant (OR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.02-1.08; p < 0.01). High PLR was confirmed as an independent predictor of CVD events. Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that PLR was independently associated with CVD events. High PLR can be used to predict the risk of CVD events in CAPD patients. PLR was easy to obtain and can be considered as a routine test to serve the clinic.