Evaluation of inflammatory cell biomarkers in chronic venous insufficiency

Objective Inflammation has been implicated as a factor that may contribute to chronic venous insufficiency. The purpose of this study is to compare readily available inflammatory cell biomarkers, with an emphasis on neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, and neutrophil lymphocyte ratio, in patients with chronic venous insufficiency. We hypothesized that circulating leukocyte counts would be higher in the peripheral blood of patients with severe compared to mild chronic venous insufficiency. Methods We performed a retrospective medical record review of patients discharged from Ruby Memorial Hospital (Morgantown, WV, USA) with a primary diagnosis of chronic venous insufficiency. Patients were organized into two groups-mild and severe chronic venous insufficiency-based on the Clinical, Etiologic, Anatomic, and Pathophysiological classification system, and inflammatory cell counts were compared between groups. Results We observed a significantly higher neutrophil count ( p = .002) and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio ( p = .005) in patients with severe chronic venous insufficiency compared to mild. Further, the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio may be a useful predictor of chronic venous insufficiency severity. Conclusions We reported significant differences in inflammatory cell biomarkers between mild and severe chronic venous insufficiency, as well as provided support for the use of the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio as a predictor of chronic venous insufficiency severity. These results may provide clinicians with additional insight to manage chronic venous insufficiency in patients and provide a framework for the development of novel treatment options targeting the immune system in chronic venous insufficiency.