The Relationship of Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio with Vitreomacular Traction Syndrome

Abstract This study was conducted to reveal the role of systemic low-grade inflammation by calculating the Neutrophil/Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) in Vitreomacular Traction Syndrome (VMTS) of different etiologies. A retrospective examination was made of the medical records at a tertiary referral hospital. The study included ۳۱ patients with diabetic VMTS, ۲۷ patients with idiopathic VMTS, and ۳۵ healthy subjects as the control group. The White Blood Cell (WBC) counts and Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) was compared. There were  insignificant differences between the groups in terms of mean age and female/male ratio (P>۰.۰۵). The mean ± Standard Deviation (SD) of NLR was calculated as ۲.۴۳ ± ۰.۸۳ in the diabetic VMTS group, ۲.۳۸ ± ۰.۹۶ in the idiopathic VMTS group, and ۱.۸۳ ± ۰.۵۲ in the control group (P=۰.۰۰۷). The values of the diabetic and idiopathic VMTS groups were significantly higher than those of the control group (P=۰.۰۰۲ and P=۰.۰۳۲, respectively). However, differences between the diabetic and idiopathic VMTS groups were insignificant (P=۰.۶۵۱). This study found significantly higher NLR in patients with diabetic and idiopathic VMTS than the control group. Elevated NLR could therefore be a potential indicator of VMTS, irrespective of the etiology.