Study on the Clinical Implications of NLR and PLR for Diagnosing Frailty in Maintenance Hemodialysis Patients and Their Correlations with Patient Prognosis

Abstract

Objective. To explore the clinical implications of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) for diagnosing frailty in patients with maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) and their correlations with patient prognosis. Methods. A total of 185 patients with MHD admitted to the hemodialysis center of our hospital were selected, 72 of whom were diagnosed with frailty according to the Chinese version of Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI). The relevant data were collected, and the influencing factors of frailty in MHD patients were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multivariate logistic regression. The value of NLR and PLR in diagnosing frailty in MHD patients was observed, and patients’ all-cause mortality was compared during the 3-year follow-up. The influences of different levels of NLR and PLR on the survival of MHD patients were investigated. Results. Multivariate regression analysis identified that serum albumin, dialysis adequacy, NLR, and PLR are independent risk factors for frailty in MHD patients ( $P<0.05$ ). The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of NLR and PLR in diagnosing frailty in MHD patients was 0.859 and 0.799, respectively. Compared with the nonfrailty group, the 3-year mortality was higher, and the 3-year survival rate assessed by survival analysis was lower in the frailty group ( $P<0.05$ ). Patients with high NLR and PLR levels showed a lower 3-year survival rate. Conclusions. Dialysis adequacy, serum albumin, NLR, and PLR are independently associated with frailty in MHD patients. NLR and PLR are of a certain diagnostic value for frailty in MHD patients. MHD patients with frailty have an unfavorable prognosis, as of those with high NLR and PLR levels.