Kekilli, MuratTanoğlu, AlpaslanSakin, Yusuf SerdarKurt, MevlütÖcal, Serkan2021-06-232021-06-2320151007-93272219-2840https://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v21.i18.5575https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12491/8340AIM: To determine the association between the neutrophil to lymphocyte (N/L) ratio and the degree of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection. METHODS: Between December 2011 and February 2013, 129 consecutive CHB patients who were admitted to the study hospitals for histological evaluation of chronic hepatitis B-related liver fibrosis were included in this retrospective study. The patients were divided into two groups based on the fibrosis score: individuals with a fibrosis score of F0 or F1 were included in the "no/minimal liver fibrosis" group, whereas patients with a fibrosis score of F2, F3, or F4 were included in the "advanced liver fibrosis" group. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences 18.0 for Windows was used to analyze the data. A P value of < 0.05 was accepted as statistically significant. RESULTS: Three experienced and blinded pathologists evaluated the fibrotic status and inflammatory activity of 129 liver biopsy samples from the CHB patients. Following histopathological examination, the "no/minimal fibrosis" group included 79 individuals, while the "advanced fibrosis" group included 50 individuals. Mean (N/L) ratio levels were notably lower in patients with advanced fibrosis when compared with patients with no/minimal fibrosis. The mean value of the aspartate aminotransferase-platelet ratio index was markedly higher in cases with advanced fibrosis compared to those with no/minimal fibrosis. CONCLUSION: Reduced levels of the peripheral blood N/L ratio were found to give high sensitivity, specificity and predictive values in CHB patients with significant fibrosis. The prominent finding of our research suggests that the N/L ratio can be used as a novel noninvasive marker of fibrosis in patients with CHB.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessChronic Hepatitis BLiver FibrosisNeutrophil to Lymphocyte RatioFibrotic StageInflammatory ActivityNon-invasive MarkerArticle10.3748/wjg.v21.i18.557521185575558125987782WOS:000354800200017Q2