Circulating neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio at admission predicts the long-term outcome in acute traumatic cervical spinal cord injury patients

This study investigates the relationship between the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and the outcome of patients with acute cervical traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI). NLR, a measure of inflammation, is evaluated for its ability to predict patient recovery 6 months post-injury. The study found that a higher NLR at the time of hospital admission was associated with a poorer outcome 6 months after the injury. This suggests that NLR could serve as a useful marker for predicting the severity and long-term effects of tSCI. By incorporating NLR into predictive models, the accuracy of forecasting patient outcomes improved compared to models using only standard clinical variables. This indicates that NLR provides valuable additional information for assessing and managing tSCI patients.

• 1
  Elevated NLR at admission is an independent predictor of poorer 6-month outcomes in patients with acute cervical tSCI.
• 2
  Combining NLR with standard clinical variables (age, AIS grade at admission, coagulopathy) improves the accuracy of outcome prediction models.
• 3
  Patients with poor outcomes (AIS A to C) had significantly higher NLR values compared to those with good outcomes (AIS D and E).