ABSTRACT Objective: ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is a serious, life-threatening disease. Inflammatory markers have recently become the focus of attention in the assessment of severity in the early stages of STEMI. This study aimed to evaluate the importance of immature granulocytes (IG) as a prognostic marker in STEMI. Methods: Patients admitted to the coronary care unit with a diagnosis of STEMI and who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) within the period from January 1, 2019 to January 1, 2020, were retrospectively scanned. A total of 146 patients were analised; of these, 112 (76.7%) were male and 34 (33.3) were female, with a mean age of 62.65±14.06 years. Patients’ age, gender, haemogram, biochemistry, and mortality results were recorded. The patients were divided into two groups as low (<0.6) and high (≥0.6) IG levels and compared. Results: The mean IG levels were significantly higher in the non-survivor group compared to the survivor group (1.12±0.22 vs. 0.50±0.28, P<0.001). Mortality rates were significantly higher in the high IG group compared to the low IG group (26.9% vs. 9.6%, P=0.006). IG was shown to predict mortality with a sensitivity of 72.2% and a specificity of 77.8% at a cut-off value of 0.65 (area under the curve: 0.740, 95% CI: 0.635-0.846, P<0.001). Conclusion: High IG values in the blood collected at the time of admission to the emergency department are a marker of mortality in patients with STEMI.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is the most common type of stroke. Inflammation is the primary factor in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Use of immature granulocytes (IGs) has been recommended as a new indicator of systemic inflammation. However, data on the association between echocardiographic epicardial fat tissue thickness (EFT) and IGs in patients with AIS are limited. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between the presences of IGs, epicardial fat tissue and AIS. DESIGN AND SETTING: Prospective study in a tertiary-care university hospital in Antalya, Turkey. METHODS: Our study included 53 AIS patients and 41 healthy controls with age and gender compatibility. Blood samples and transthoracic echocardiography of all participants were compared. RESULTS: IG levels were significantly higher in patients with AIS than in controls (0.62 ± 0.36 versus 0.28 ± 0.02, P < 0.001). The mean EFT was 3.74 ± 0.61 mm in the control group and 6.33 ± 1.47 mm in the AIS patient group. EFT was significantly greater in AIS patients than in controls (P < 0.001). For the optimum cut-off value for IG (0.95), the area under the curve (AUC) was determined to be 0.840; sensitivity was determined to be 81.1% and specificity, 92.5%. For the optimum cut-off value for EFT (4.95 mm), the AUC was determined to be 0.953; sensitivity was determined to be 90.6% and specificity, 90%. CONCLUSIONS: IG and echocardiographic EFT are clinical markers that can be used to predict AIS risk.

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the relationship between neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) with in-hospital mortality in type A acute aortic dissection (AAD). Methods: A total of 96 patients who presented to the emergency department between January 2013 and June 2018 with a diagnosis of type A AAD were enrolled in this study. White blood cell count subtypes such as NLR and PLR were calculated at the time of admission. The end point was in-hospital mortality. Results: Of the 96 type A AAD patients included in this analysis, 17 patients (17.7%) died during hospitalization. NLR and PLR were significantly elevated in patients with type A AAD (P<0.001 and <0.001, respectively). Based on the receiver operating characteristic curve, the best NLR cut-off value to predict in-hospital mortality was 9.74, with 70.6% sensitivity and 76.8% specificity, whereas the best PLR cut-off value was 195.8, with 76.5% sensitivity and 78.1% specificity. Conclusion: Admission NLR and PLR levels were important risk factors and independently associated with in-hospital mortality of type A AAD patients.