Evaluation of inflammatory markers in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Evaluation of inflammatory markers in patients with rheumatoid arthritis AIM: The aim of this study is to compare the biochemistry and hemogram parameters of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and healthy population, especially CRP/albumin ratio, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, platelet/lymphocyte ratio, lymphocyte/monocyte ratio, RDW (Red cell Distrubition Width), MPV (Mean Platelet Volume) and the lumbar and femur bone mineral density to evaluate the relationship between these values and rheumatoid arthritis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the study, 56 female and 14 male patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis were included as a case group, and 47 healthy females and 3 males without any rheumatological disease were included as a control group. The demographic characteristics of the individuals were recorded. CRP/albumin ratio, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, platelet/lymphocyte ratio, lymphocyte/monocyte ratio, RDW, MPV and bone mineral density were recorded from the retrospectively scanned files. The medical treatments of the patients followed up with the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis were recorded, 59 patients were using synthetic DMARDs (Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatismal Drugs) and 11 patients were using biological DMARDs. RESULTS: Age, height, weight, BMI (Body Mass Index) of the patients did not differ significantly (p <0.05) between the case and control groups. Female gender (p= 0.030) was dominant in both groups. The CRP , CRP/albumin ratio, NLR, and PLR were significantly higher in the case group than in the control group (p <0.05). Albumin, lymphocyte, LMR, L1-4 vertebra BMD, femur total BMD were significantly (p <0.05) lower in the case group than in the control group. In the case group, neutrophil, NLR and RDW were found to be significantly higher (p<0.05) in those using synthetic DMARDs than those using biological DMARDs. CONCLUSION: In RA disease progressing with inflammation, CRP/albumin ratio, NLR and PLR can be effective markers in determining disease activity and inflammation level. There are not enough studies in the literature examining the effects of medical treatments used in rheumatoid arthritis on the CRP/albumin, NLR and PLR, which have recently been on the agenda in determining disease activity. There is a need for new studies in which treatment groups are addressed. Keywords: CRP/albumin ratio, lymphocyte/monocyte ratio, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, platelet/lymphocyte ratio