Is There Any Relationship Between Cervical Disc Herniation and Blood Inflammatory Response?

Area of Science:

• Biomedical research
• Inflammatory markers
• Spine pathophysiology

Background:

• Inflammation is a key factor in the development of disc herniation.
• Understanding inflammatory markers in cervical disc herniation (CDH) is crucial for diagnosis and management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate blood neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in patients with CDH.
• To assess the potential of these markers in distinguishing CDH from other neck pain causes.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 126 inpatient medical records from a neurosurgery department.
• Documented NLR, PLR, and CRP levels at hospital admission for patients with neck pain.
• Compared marker levels across groups: CDH patients, neck pain with normal MRI, and healthy controls.

Main Results:

• Patients with CDH exhibited significantly higher mean leucocyte count, neutrophil count, NLR, and CRP levels compared to controls and those with neck pain and normal MRI.
• NLR was significantly elevated in multi-level CDH compared to controls.
• No significant difference in inflammatory parameters between single-level and multi-level CDH groups.

Conclusions:

• Elevated NLR and CRP in CDH patients suggest an active inflammatory response.
• Non-elevated NLR and CRP may correlate with normal cervical MRI findings in neck pain patients.
• Elevated inflammatory markers in neck pain patients may warrant early interventions to prevent disc degeneration and CDH.