Correlation of Total Leukocyte Count and Neutrophil Lymphocyte Ratio in Bacteremia Patients with Sepsis

Abstract

Back ground: Total leukocyte count (TLC) and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) are easily assessable inflammatory marker in blood and used for determining the prognosis of various infectious diseases including sepsis.

Objective: The study was aimed to correlate TLC and NLR in bacteremia patients with sepsis.

Materials and Methods: The cross sectional study was conducted from September 2019 to February 2020 at tertiary hospital at Manipal. A total of 48 bacteremia patients with sepsis between 18-80 years of age were enrolled in the study. Data of TLC and NLR were taken from the laboratory information system and evaluated to study the correlation in bacteremia patients with sepsis.

Result: Forty six (95.8%) patients got discharged from the hospital and two (4.2%) died during hospitalization. Mean TLC and Mean NLR during admission were 16140 ± 8007 cells/mm3 (Min.700 cells/mm3 and Max.37800cells/mm3) and 14 ±12.8 (Min.1 and Max.47) respectively. Survived patients had higher deviation in TLC and NLR values from the mean than in patients who died. Both of these were moderately positively correlated in bacteremia patients with sepsis (r=0.5003, p=0.0003).

Conclusion: Both TLC and NLR were moderately positively correlated in bacteremia patients with sepsis. Larger prospective studies are required to confirm its possible value as a prognostic marker in bacteremia patients with sepsis.

Keywords: Key words: Bacteremia, sepsis, NLR, Leucocyte count, CRP, Procalcitonin