Association of Preoperative Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio with Atrial Fibrillation after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and atrial fibrillation (AF) after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Subjects and Methods: A total of 125 patients were retrospectively analyzed. AF was diagnosed using standard clinical criteria, and PLR was calculated as the ratio of the platelets to lymphocytes, obtained from the blood samples that were taken in the fasting state before CABG surgery. The association of different variables with postoperative AF and PLR was calculated using univariate and multivariate analysis. The receiver operating characteristics curve was used to determine the sensitivity and specificity of PLR and the optimal cutoff value for predicting post-CABG AF. Results: Of the 125 patients, 50 with AF (mean age: 67.0 +/- 9.5 years, 38 males and 12 females) and 75 patients without AF (mean age: 61.1 +/- 9.1 years, 58 males and 17 females) were identified, and the difference in the mean age was statistically significant (p = 0.01). PLR was also significantly higher in those with AF (152.8 +/- 82.2) than those without AF (118.2 +/- 32.9) (p = 0.012). Univariate analysis showed that age and PLR were associated with AF after CABG surgery (p < 0.001 and p = 0.005, respectively). Using a multivariate logistic regression model with the backward elimination method, age and PLR remained as independent predictors of AF after CABG surgery (p < 0.001 and p = 0.005, respectively). PLR levels > 119.3 predicted postoperative AF with 64% sensitivity and 56% specificity (AUC: 0.634, p = 0.012). Conclusion: In this study, age and PLR level were independent predictors of AF after CABG surgery. Patients with an elevated preoperative PLR were at higher risk of AF after CABG surgery. (C) 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel