PERIPHERAL BLOOD PARAMETERS IN PATIENTS WITH VERSUS WITHOUT INCIDENTAL POLYCYTHEMIA: A CROSS-SECTIONAL ANALYSIS WITH EMPHASIS ON NLR, PLR, VITAMIN D AND VITAMIN B12 LEVELS

Abstract

Objective: To investigate routine peripheral blood parameters in patients with versus without secondary polycythemia with emphasis on NLR, PLR, and levels of Vit D and Vit B12 Methods: A total of 367 internal medicine outpatients (mean±SD age: 49.5±17.4 years, 66.2% were males) with (n=176) and without (n=191) secondary polycythemia were included in this cross-sectional study. Data on patient demographics, smoking status, peripheral blood parameters, NLR and PLR and Vit D and Vit B12 levels were recorded in both groups. Results: Patients with vs. without secondary polycythemia had significantly higher median(min-max) values for WBC (8.5(4.5-22.6) vs. 7.2(3.1-18.7) x109/L, p<0.001), neutrophil (4.7(1.6-557) vs. 4.1(0.7-55.2) cells/mm3, p<0.001) and lymphocyte (2.5(0.8-9.6) vs. 2.2(0.5-7.2)cells/µL, p<0.001) and significantly lower platelet (246(11.5-1476) vs. 263(140-456) cells/mm3, p=0.032) and PLR (99.1(8.2-1093.3) vs. 116.4(25.5-447), p<0.001). Vit B12 levels were negatively correlated with ferritin levels (r=-0.536, p<0.05) only in patients with polycythemia, and with NLR (r=-0.148, p<0.05) and PLR (r=-0.228, p<0.01) only in patients without polycythemia. Conclusion: In conclusion, our findings revealed the association of secondary polycythemia with significantly lower platelet counts and PLR but no significant difference between patients with and without secondary polycythemia in terms of NLR, Vit B12 and Vit D values. Our findings emphasize the direct negative correlation between hemoglobin levels and PLR as well as the lower likelihood of coagulation activation and thrombotic processes in patients with secondary polycythemia