Predictive value of immune cell counts and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio for 28-day mortality in patients with sepsis caused by intra-abdominal infection

Shuangqing Liu; Yuxuan Li; Fei She; Xiaodong Zhao; Yongming Yao

doi:10.1093/burnst/tkaa040

Predictive value of immune cell counts and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio for 28-day mortality in patients with sepsis caused by intra-abdominal infection

Burns Trauma. 2021 Mar 22:9:tkaa040. doi: 10.1093/burnst/tkaa040. eCollection 2021 Jan.

Authors

Shuangqing Liu^{1

2

3}, Yuxuan Li¹, Fei She², Xiaodong Zhao², Yongming Yao^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Medical school of Chinese PLA, No. 28 Fuxing Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100853, China.
² Department of Emergency, the Fourth Medical Center of the Chinese PLA General Hospital, No. 51 Fucheng Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100048, China.
³ Trauma Research Center, the Fourth Medical Center of the Chinese PLA General Hospital, No. 51 Fucheng Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100048, China.

Abstract

Background: The current study aimed to evaluate the value of immune cell counts and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) when attempting to predict 28-day mortality.

Methods: We conducted an observational retrospective study that included consecutive septic patients. Severity scores on the first day and peripheral circulating immune cell counts (at day 1, day 3, day 5 and day 7 of admission) were collected during each patient's emergency intensive care unit stay. We assessed the associations of peripheral circulating immune cell counts and NLR with the severity of illness. The relationships between 28-day mortality and peripheral circulating immune cell counts and NLR with were evaluated using Cox proportional cause-specific hazards models.

Results: A total of 216 patients diagnosed with sepsis caused by IAI were enrolled. The lymphocyte counts (days 1, 3, 5 and 7) and monocyte counts (days 3, 5 and 7) were significantly lower in non-survivors (n = 72) than survivors (n = 144). The NLR values at each time point were significantly higher in non-survivors. The day 1 lymphocyte counts, as well as the monocyte counts, were significantly lower in the highest-scoring group, when stratified by the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores, than in the other groups (p < 0.05). The day 1 NLR was significantly higher in the highest-scoring group than in the other groups (p < 0.05). The day 5 and day 7 lymphocyte counts, day 3 and day 7 monocyte counts and day 7 NLR were significant predictors of 28-day mortality in the Cox proportional hazards models (day 5 lymphocyte count: hazard ratio, 0.123 (95% CI, 0.055-0.279), p < 0.001; day 7 lymphocyte count: hazard ratio, 0.115 (95% CI, 0.052-0.254), p < 0.001; day 3 monocyte count: hazard ratio, 0.067 (95% CI, 0.005-0.861), p = 0.038; day 7 monocyte count: hazard ratio, 0.015 (95% CI, 0.001-0.158), p < 0.001; day 7 NLR: hazard ratio, 0.773 (95% CI, 0.659-0.905), p = 0.001).

Conclusions: The results showed that circulating lymphocytes and monocytes were dramatically decreased within 7 days in non-survivors following sepsis from an IAI. Lymphocyte counts, monocyte counts and NLR appeared to be associated with the severity of illness, and they may serve as independent predictors of 28-day mortality in septic patients with IAIs.

Keywords: Intra-abdominal infection; Lymphocyte counts; Monocyte counts; Mortality; Predictive value; Sepsis.