Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and red blood cell distribution width-to-platelet ratio predict cardiovascular events in hemodialysis patients.

Cardiovascular diseases are among the primary causes of decreased quality of life as well as mortality of hemodialysis patients with end-stage renal disease. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the predictive value of the red blood cell distribution width (RDW)-to-platelet ratio (RPR) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) regarding the occurrence or development of cardiovascular events in hemodialysis patients, as well as the prognostic value of this metric. A total of 219 hemodialysis patients with cardiovascular events (HCE group) and 276 hemodialysis patients with no cardiovascular events (HNCE group) were enrolled in the present study. The clinical characteristics and laboratory parameters on admission, including RDW, as well as neutrophil, lymphocyte and platelet counts, were recorded. The NLR and RPR were increased in the HCE group compared with those in the HNCE group and there was a positive association between the NLR or RPR and the incidence of cardiovascular events in hemodialysis patients. In the receiver operating characteristics curve analysis, the area under the curve of the RPR for predicting cardiovascular events in hemodialysis patients was 0.88, while that for the NLR was 0.84. The sensitivity and specificity of the RPR for predicting cardiovascular events in hemodialysis patients were 0.87 and 0.82 respectively, and for the NLR, they were 0.75 and 0.79, respectively. The RPR was an independent risk factor for the prognosis regarding cardiovascular events in hemodialysis patients. In addition, the NLR and RPR were correlated with brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), cardiac troponin I (cTnI), creatine kinase isoenzyme-MB (CK-MB), and associated with ST segment changes in HCE patients. In conclusion, it was possible to predict the incidence of cardiovascular events in hemodialysis patients using the NLR and RPR, while the RPR had a better sensitivity and specificity than the NLR. The RPR was an independent risk factor for the prognosis regarding cardiovascular events in hemodialysis patients. These routinely available parameters should be considered as novel diagnostic markers for the occurrence and development of cardiovascular events in hemodialysis patients and their prognosis.