ArticleThe Journal of infection2020
Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio as an independent risk factor for mortality in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
Article in The Journal of infection, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 566 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
566 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
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- The Impact of Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Count Ratio in COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of intensive care medicine · 2022Pooled it
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- Mesenchymal stem cell transplantation alleviated TBI-induced lung injury by inhibiting PAD4-dependent NET formation.Journal of advanced research · 2026Article
- Lymphopenia in Bacterial Sepsis and SARS-CoV-2 Infection.Biomedicines · 2026Article
- SCUBE-1 as a Biomarker Predictor for the Home Follow-Up and Hospitalization of SARS-CoV-2 Patients.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Unraveling the Mystery: COVID-19 and Diabetic Complications - A Journey from Pathophysiology to Treatment.Current diabetes reviews · 2026Review
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- Neutrophil Dynamics in Viral Infections: Drivers of Inflammation and Targets for Pro-Resolving Therapies.Journal of innate immunity · 2026Review
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506 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Abstract
backgroundSeveral studies have described the clinical characteristics of patients with novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infected pneumonia (COVID-19), indicating severe patients tended to have higher neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR). Whether baseline NLR could be an independent predictor of in-hospital death in Chinese COVID-19 patients remains to be investigated.
methodsA cohort of patients with COVID-19 admitted to the Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University from January 1 to February 29 was retrospectively analyzed. The baseline data of laboratory examinations, including NLR, were collected. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were developed to assess the independent relationship between the baseline NLR and in-hospital all-cause death. A sensitivity analysis was performed by converting NLR from a continuous variable to a categorical variable according to tertile. Interaction and stratified analyses were conducted as well.
results245 COVID-19 patients were included in the final analyses, and the in-hospital mortality was 13.47%. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that there was 8% higher risk of in-hospital mortality for each unit increase in NLR (Odds ratio [OR] = 1.08; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.01 to 1.14; P = 0.0147). Compared with patients in the lowest tertile, the NLR of patients in the highest tertile had a 15.04-fold higher risk of death (OR = 16.04; 95% CI, 1.14 to 224.95; P = 0.0395) after adjustment for potential confounders. Notably, the fully adjusted OR for mortality was 1.10 in males for each unit increase of NLR (OR = 1.10; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.19; P = 0.016).
conclusionsNLR is an independent risk factor of the in-hospital mortality for COVID-19 patients especially for male. Assessment of NLR may help identify high risk individuals with COVID-19.
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