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Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, red cell distribution width and mean platelet volume as practical markers in febrile
Pelin Balikoğlu1, Ayse Oflu1, Ayşegül Bükülmez1
1Afyonkarahisar Health Sciences University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey.
Insights
Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and mean platelet volume are higher in complex febrile seizures, suggesting they may aid in classifying febrile seizures. Red cell distribution width did not show significant differences between simple and complex febrile seizures.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Hematology
- Neurology
Background:
- Febrile seizures are common in children.
- Classifying febrile seizures into simple and complex types is crucial for management.
- Identifying reliable biomarkers for classification is an ongoing area of research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the utility of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), red cell distribution width (RDW), and mean platelet volume (MPV) in differentiating simple from complex febrile seizures.
- To determine if these hematological parameters can serve as clinical markers for febrile seizure classification.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective hospital-based study included 112 pediatric patients (5-72 months) with febrile seizures due to upper respiratory tract infections.
- Patients were categorized into simple febrile seizures (SFS) and complex febrile seizures (CFS) groups.
- Exclusion criteria included febrile status epilepticus, prior convulsions, specific medications, other infection foci, abnormal labs, and chronic diseases.
Main Results:
- Of 112 patients, 89 had SFS and 23 had CFS.
- No significant difference in mean RDW was observed between SFS and CFS groups (p=0.703).
- Both NLR and MPV were significantly elevated in the CFS group compared to the SFS group (p=0.034 and p=0.037, respectively).
Conclusions:
- NLR and MPV show potential as practical and cost-effective biomarkers for classifying febrile seizures.
- RDW did not demonstrate utility in differentiating between simple and complex febrile seizures in this cohort.
- Further validation through large-scale, multicenter studies is recommended to confirm these findings.
Objective:
To examine the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, red cell distribution width and mean platelet volume in patients with febrile seizure and to determine their role in febrile seizure classification.
Methods:
This was a retrospective hospital-based study conducted among patients aged 5 to 72 months admitted with febrile seizure. Children who had febrile seizures due to upper respiratory tract infection were included in the study. The children were divided into two groups: simple febrile seizures and complex febrile seizures. Patients with a history of febrile status epilepticus, previous convulsions, use of antiepileptic or other chronic drugs, foci of infection other than the upper respiratory tract infection, abnormal biochemical parameters, and chronic mental or physical disease were excluded from the study. Clinical and laboratory findings of the patients were obtained from digital medical records.
Results:
The records of 112 febrile seizure patients were reviewed, and 89 were grouped as simple and 23 as complex febrile seizures. Although there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of the mean red cell distribution width values (p=0.703), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and mean platelet volume were significantly higher in patients with complex febrile seizures (p=0.034, p=0.037; respectively).
Conclusions:
This study showed that neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and mean platelet volume could be practical and inexpensive clinical markers for febrile seizure classification. A similar result could not be reached for red cell distribution width in this study. These findings should be supported by multicenter studies with large samples.
