Effect of Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio on Post-TAVR Mortality and Periprocedural Pulmonary Hypertension

Abstract

Aims. To evaluate the impact of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) on periprocedural pulmonary hypertension (PH) and 3-month all-cause mortality in patients with aortic stenosis (AS) who underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and to develop a nomogram for predicting the mortality for these patients. Methods and Results. 124 patients undergoing TAVR were categorized into three groups according to systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP): Group I (no PH, n = 61) consisted of patients with no pre- and post-TAVR PH; Group II (improved PH, n = 35) consisted of patients with post-TAVR systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP) decreased by more than 10 mmHg compared to pre-TAVR levels; and Group III (persistent PH, n = 28) consisted of patients with post-TAVR sPAP no decrease or less than 10 mmHg, or new-onset PH after the TAVR procedure. The risk of all-cause mortality within 3 months tended to be higher in Group II (11.4%) and Group III (14.3%) compared to Group I (3.3%) ($P=0.057$). The multinomial logistic regression analysis demonstrated a positive correlation between NLR and both improved PH (OR: 1.182, 95% CI: 1.036–1.350, $P=0.013$) and persistent PH (OR: 1.181, 95% CI: 1.032–1.352, $P=0.016$). Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed a significant association between higher NLR and increased 3-month all-cause mortality (16.1% vs. 3.1% in lower NLR group, $P=0.021$). The multivariable Cox regression analysis confirmed that NLR was an independent predictor for all-cause mortality within 3 months, even after adjusting for clinical confounders. A nomogram incorporating five factors (BNP, heart rate, serum total bilirubin, NLR, and comorbidity with coronary heart disease) was developed. ROC analysis was performed to discriminate the ability of the nomogram, and the AUC was 0.926 (95% CI: 0.850–1.000, $P<0.001$). Conclusions. Patients with higher baseline NLR were found to be at an increased risk of periprocedural PH and all-cause mortality within 3 months after TAVR.