Predictive value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and MELD score for short-term survival of patients with HBV-DeCi

Zhong Han; Liangshuai Qi; Sirui Chen; Jinfei Zhang; Xueliang Guo; Chunying Liang; Weiwei Zheng

doi:10.1080/17520363.2024.2448112

Predictive value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and MELD score for short-term survival of patients with HBV-DeCi

Biomark Med. 2025 Jan;19(2):43-49. doi: 10.1080/17520363.2024.2448112. Epub 2025 Jan 9.

Authors

Zhong Han¹, Liangshuai Qi², Sirui Chen², Jinfei Zhang¹, Xueliang Guo³, Chunying Liang⁴, Weiwei Zheng⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shengzhou People's Hospital, Shengzhou Branch of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, the Shengzhou Hospital of Shaoxing University, Shengzhou, Zhejiang, China.
² School of Laboratory Medicine, Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, Anhui, China.
³ Department of Internal Medicine, Shengzhou People's Hospital, Shengzhou Branch of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, the Shengzhou Hospital of Shaoxing University, Shengzhou, Zhejiang, China.
⁴ Department of Pharmacy, XinChang Hospital of Chinese Medicine, XinChang, Zhejiang, China.
⁵ Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China.

PMID: 39781609
PMCID: PMC11749384 (available on 2026-01-09)
DOI: 10.1080/17520363.2024.2448112

Abstract

Objective: The prognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) combined with Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score was evaluated for hepatitis B virus-associated decompensated cirrhosis (HBV-DeCi).

Methods: The 30-day mortality of 166 hBV-DeCi patients was examined. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis and multivariate regression analysis were used to assess the performance of NLR for prediction of poor outcomes.

Results: The 30-day mortality rate was 10.2% (17/166). NLR was significantly lower in survivors than in non-survivors, and could be used for prognosis prediction in HBV-DeCi patients. Area under the curve was higher for NLR combined with MELD score than for each factor alone. (MELD score, AUC:0.864、NLR, AUC:0.781, Combined, AUC:0.920) The Odds ratio of MELD score is lower than NLR.(MELD score:1.447&NLR:1.745).

Conclusions: The findings demonstrate that NLR combined with MELD score has a high prognostic value for HBV-DeCi patients.

Keywords: Decompensated cirrhosis; MELD score; hepatitis B virus; mortality; neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio.

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
End Stage Liver Disease / blood
End Stage Liver Disease / diagnosis
End Stage Liver Disease / mortality
Female
Hepatitis B / blood
Hepatitis B / complications
Hepatitis B / diagnosis
Hepatitis B / mortality
Hepatitis B virus / isolation & purification
Humans
Liver Cirrhosis / blood
Liver Cirrhosis / diagnosis
Liver Cirrhosis / mortality
Liver Cirrhosis / virology
Lymphocyte Count
Lymphocytes* / cytology
Male
Middle Aged
Neutrophils* / cytology
Predictive Value of Tests
Prognosis
ROC Curve
Retrospective Studies
Severity of Illness Index

Grants and funding

The work was supported by Key Research Project Education Department of Anhui Province (2022AH051267); Beijing Xisike Clinical Oncology Research Fundation (Y-HS202201-0168); WBE Liver Fibrosis Foundation (CFHPC2024027); Beijing Science and Technology Innovation Medical Development Foundation (KC2023-JX-0186-FQ034); Xinchang County Science and Technology plan project (JFZC2415). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.