The Neutrophil/Lymphocyte Ratio and Outcomes in Hospitalized Patients with Community-Acquired Pneumonia: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Abstract

We aimed to assess the prognostic role of the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) via a single-center retrospective cohort of hospitalized adult patients from 1/2009 to 12/2019. Patients were dichotomized into lower NLR (≤12) and higher NLR (>12). The primary outcome was mortality. ICU admission and hospital- and ICU-free days were secondary outcomes. The pneumonia severity index (PSI) and the NLR’s ability to predict outcomes was also tested. An NLR ≤12 was observed in 2513 (62.2%) patients and >12 in 1526 (37.8%). After adjusting for PSI, the NLR was not associated with hospital mortality (odds ratio [OR] 1.115; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.774, 1.606; p = 0.559), but it was associated with a higher risk of ICU admission (OR 1.405; 95% CI 1.216, 1.624; p < 0.001). The PSI demonstrated acceptable discrimination for mortality (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC] 0.78; 95% CI 0.75, 0.82) which was not improved by adding the NLR (AUC 0.78; 95% CI 0.75, 0.82, p = 0.4476). The PSI’s performance in predicting ICU admission was also acceptable (AUC 0.75; 95% CI 0.74, 0.77) and improved by including the NLR (AUC 0.76, 95% CI 0.74, 0.77, p = 0.008), although with limited clinical significance. The NLR was not superior to the PSI for predicting mortality in hospitalized CAP patients.