CORRELATION BETWEEN THE NEUTROPHIL-LYMPHOCYTE COUNT RATIO AND BACTERIAL INFECTION IN PATIENT WITH

HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS

Dedy Kusnadi¹, Muh. Nur Ikhsan Liwang², Sudirman Katu², A. Halim Mubin², Risna Halim²

¹Tropical Infection Medicine Division

²Internal Medicine Department, Medical Faculty of Hasanuddin University

Makassar

(dedykusnadi.md@gmail.com)

 

 

Background: Parameters for starting antibiotic therapy such as CRP and leukocytosis are considered non-specific. Previous studies have shown The Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Count Ratio (NLCR) can serve as the basis of bacterial infection, the level  of infection, and the basis of antibiotic therapy. Compared with the procalitonin parameter, this NLCR is rapid, an inexpensive and requires no additional sampling.

 

Objective: To determine the correlation between The Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Count Ratio to bacterial infection in HIV patients.

 

Method: This study was cross sectional observational approach to HIV subject at Wahidin Sudirohusodo Hospital and Hasanuddin University Hospital. The subjects performed routine blood tests, microbiology and blood procalcitonin levels test. Then performed NLCR calculations based on routine blood results. The subjects then grouped the presence or absence of bacterial infection.

 

Results: In 146 study subjects, there were 78 (53.4%) with bacterial infections and 68 (46.6%) without bacterial infection as controls. Subjects with bacterial infections had higher total neutrophils (84.83) compared with non-bacterial infections. Subjects with bacterial infections had total lymphocytes with an average of 8.51 lower than non-bacterial infections. Subjects with bacterial infections had higher NLCR values with an average of 12.80.

 

Conclusion: The Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Count Ratio can become a marker of bacterial infection in HIV patients.

 

Keywords: HIV, neutrophil, lymphocyte, CD4, NLCR