Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and platelet to lymphocyte ratio in anorectal abscess

Abstract

Dear Editor, We would like to share ideas on the publication “The evaluation of neutrophil to lymphocyte (NLR) ratio and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in anorectal abscess.”[1] Concluded that “We believe NLR may be used as a helpful diagnostic marker for ARA diagnosis; however, PLR has low sensitivity and specificity.”[1] There are many factors that can affect the reliability of NLR and PLR. The concurrent disorders such as other coinfection or personal medication such as antiplatelet drug can alter the NLR and PLR results. In addition, the point that the report by Akarin did not mention is the quality control of the automated hematological analyzer, which is not the issue on sensitivity and specificity.[2,3] Finally, the different kinds or generations of automated hematology analyzer can result in discordant parameters. Large different of platelet, neutrophil, and lymphocyte result is observed in inter-laboratory evaluation studies.[2] Therefore, the follow-up monitoring must be based on the same analyzer.