The benefit of leukocyte and platelet counts and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio for predicting elevated troponin levels in emergency department

Objective: We aimed to find out whether the number of leukocyte, platelet and neutrophil / lymphocyte ratio of the patients, who were admitted to the emergency department with the complaints suggestive of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and who requires troponin monitorization, at admission had positive predictive value in identifying the patients in whom troponin value becomes positive and who are considered as non-st-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). Materials And Methods: Three hundred twenty-eight patients who were admitted to the emergency department with chest pain and the complaints suggestive of ACS and whose electrocardiograms (EKG) did not reveal ST elevation were examined retrospectively. A total of 163 patients whose troponin values were elevated and who were diagnosed with NSTEMI were included as the study group while 165 patients in whom ACS was excluded according to the American Heart Association (AHA) 2014 Non-ST Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome (NSTE-ACS) management guideline and who were discharged from the emergency department with the diagnosis of non-cardiac chest pain were included as the control group. The leukocyte count, platelet count, neutrophil / lymphocyte ratio and routine tests were compared among groups by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows 22.0 program. Results: When the patients of the study and control groups were compared in terms of cardiovascular risk factors, the parameters of age, gender distribution, family history, and history of coronary artery disease (CAD) did not show statistical difference between the two groups (p ˃ 0.05) whereas diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and smoking rates were found to be significantly higher in the study group compared to the control group (p = 0.006, p = 0.0.009, p = 0.011, p = 0.009). The leukocyte value and neutrophil / lymphocyte ratio were found to be significantly higher in the study group compared to the control group (p <0.001) while the platelet count was found to be significantly lower in the study group compared to the control group (p <0.001). In the Receiver operating curve (ROC) curve analyses, the cutoff value, sensitivity and specificity were determined to be 9.10 * 3 / uL, 74%, 70.8% for leukocyte, 235.10 * 3 / uL, 71.3%, 72% for platelet and 2.5, 84.8%, 71.9% for the neutrophil / lymphocyte ratio, respectively. Conclusion: Having leukocyte value over 9.10 * 3 / uL and neutrophil / lymphocyte ratio over 2.5 and having platelet value below 235.10 * 3 / uL in the initial blood samples of the patients, who were admitted to the emergency department with the complaints suggestive of ACS, predict the patients with troponin increase during monitorization. We suggest that these parameters may be used in conjunction with other cardiac parameters for the diagnosis of NSTEMI in the patients who are admitted to the emergency department with chest pain or the complaints suggestive of ACS and who require troponin monitorization. Keywords: Emergency Room, Acute Coronary Syndrome, Leukocyte, Neutrophil / Lymphocyte ratio, Platelet, Troponin