Association between platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio at admission and short-term mortality in severe burn patients: A...

The platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) reflects a pro-inflammatory state, which has been related to the severity and poor prognosis in severe burn patients. However, the results of the previous studies were not consistent. This meta-analysis aims to evaluate the relationship between PLR at admission and short-term mortality in severe burn injuries.

A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Wanfang, and CNKI for studies published until September 9, 2024. Cohort studies assessing PLR and short-term mortality in severe burn patients were included. Mean difference (MD) for PLR between survivors and nonsurvivors of severe burn, and odds ratios (OR) for short-term mortality (during hospitalization or within 90 days) comparing between patients with a high versus a low PLR at admission were summarized.

Eleven cohort studies with 4515 patients were included. The analysis revealed that PLR at admission was significantly lower in survivors compared to nonsurvivors (MD: -14.17; 95 % confidence interval [CI]: -28.01 to -0.34; p = 0.04). Subgroup analyses showed consistent findings across various demographics, including age, sex, total body surface area affected by burn, proportion of patients with inhalation injury, follow-up duration, and different study quality scores (p for subgroup difference all > 0.05). Furthermore, a high PLR at admission was associated with an increased risk of short-term mortality (OR: 1.37; 95 % CI: 1.16-1.63; p < 0.001).

A high PLR at admission is associated with an increased risk of short-term mortality in severe burn patients.