Can neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-lymphocyte ratio, prognostic nutrition index, and albumin be used to predict cholecystectomy morbidity in super-elderly patients?

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the usability of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR), prognostic nutritional index (PNI), and serum albumin level in predicting cholecystectomy morbidity in elderly patients (85 years and older) who underwent cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis.

METHODS: This retrospective study included super-elderly patients who underwent cholecystectomy due to acute cholecystitis at a tertiary health centre between January 2010 and January 2021. The patients were divided into two groups according to the presence of postoperative complications (morbidity). The differences between the two groups were evaluated. In addition, the role of NLR, PLR, PNI, and serum albumin level in predicting cholecystectomy morbidity for acute cholecystitis in super-elderly patients was assessed via ROC analysis.

RESULTS: Of 30 patients who met the study criteria, 22 (73.3%) were female, and the mean age of all patients was 87.43±2.66 years (range 85-94 years). 7 (23.3%) patients had at least one comorbid disease during the preoperative period. The mean value of NLR, PLR, albumin, and PNI were 8.31, 153.76, 3.45, and 48.37, respectively. The morbidity rate of the study was 23.3%. The area under the curve (AUC) for NLR was 0.466 ([95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.259-0.672]; P=0.787), and the AUC for PLR was 0.429 ([95% CI: 0.201-0.656]; P=0.573). These two factors were not suitable for predicting morbidity. The AUC for PNI was 0.780 ([95% CI: 0.568-0.991]; P=0.027), and the AUC for albumin was 0.894 ([95% CI: 0.770-1.000]; P=0.002). At the cut-off value of 3.05 g/dL, the sensitivity and specificity of albumin were 91.3% and 71.4%, respectively, while the sensitivity and specificity of PNI at the 41.70 cut-off value were 82.6% and 71.4%, respectively.

CONCLUSION: This study found that PNI and albumin can be used as predictive factors with high sensitivity and specificity for predicting cholecystectomy morbidity for acute cholecystitis in super-elderly patients. However, NLR and PLR had no significance in predicting cholecystectomy morbidity.