Immunonutritional status and pulmonary cavitation in patients with tuberculosis: A revisit with an assessment of neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio.

BACKGROUND: Several reports have described the importance of immunological and nutritional factors in the morbidity and/or mortality of patients with tuberculosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between pulmonary cavitation and immunonutritional status, assessed by parameters such as neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and prognostic nutritional index (PNI), in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.

METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the data of 137 patients with culture-positive active pulmonary tuberculosis without bacterial pneumonia diagnosed at Kainan Hospital between April 2008 and March 2016. The associations between the levels of serum albumin, lymphocytes, NLR, PNI, platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and body mass index (BMI) and pulmonary cavitation were evaluated in the patients.

RESULTS: A total of 83 men and 63 women (median age, 75 years; range, 16-94 years) were included in the study. Sixty-six patients had smoking history; 55 patients had respiratory symptoms, while 44 patients did not have any symptoms. Patient׳s delay, defined as medical examination performed over 60 days after the onset of symptoms was observed in 25 patients. Univariate analysis showed that high NLR (≥ 5), high PLR (≥200), low serum albumin (<3 g/dL), high neutrophil count (≥6000/mm3 ), and low lymphocyte count (<1000/mm3 ) were associated with pulmonary cavitation. Multivariate analysis showed that high NLR and low serum albumin were associated with pulmonary cavitation.

CONCLUSION: Malnutrition and increased severity of inflammation may be associated with pulmonary cavitation in patients with tuberculosis. Further studies are warranted to confirm the findings of the present study.