A novel predictive marker for the viscosity of otitis media with effusion

To evaluate the significance of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio for the prediction of the viscosity of otitis media with effusion.

This retrospective study was performed on 81 patients who were admitted to the otolaryngology clinic.The patients were divided into two groups according to their effusion type, as serous or mucoid, which was defined intraoperatively after myringotomy. The NLR and PLR were calculated as a simple ratio between the absolute neutrophil/platelet and absolute lymphocyte counts.Tympanostomy tube insertion was performed for all cases.Under direct visualization, the effusion was aspirated and classified as serous or mucous.

We postulated that an NLR value of less than 1.38 may show mucoid effusion and if the PLR value is less than 97.96, the effusion is mucoid.

We speculate that a useful predictor of viscosity for a middle ear effusion could prevent unnecessary surgeries and additional costs in the treatment of EMO. Additional studies are needed to confirm our results.