ASSOCIATION BETWEEN NEUTROPHIL–LYMPHOCYTE RATIO, PLATELET-LYMPHOCYTE RATIO, RED CELL DISTRIBUTION WIDTH AND ECHOCARDIOGRAPHICALLY-DERIVED LEFT VENTRICULAR FUNCTIONS IN NIGERIANS WITH HEART FAILURE.

Hematological biomarkers such as the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and red cell distribution width (RDW) have been linked to left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in chronic heart failure (CHF), but evidence from sub-Saharan Africa is limited. This study evaluated their association with LV systolic and diastolic function in Nigerians with CHF.

In this comparative cross-sectional study, 90 patients with CHF and 90 age- and sex-matched healthy controls underwent clinical assessment, transthoracic echocardiography, and automated full blood count analysis to determine NLR, PLR, RDW-coefficient of variation (RDW-CV), and RDW-standard deviation (RDW-SD).

Median NLR was highest in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) (p=0.022), while PLR was lowest in those with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) (p=0.015). NLR correlated negatively with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (r=−0.252, p=0.017). Both RDW-SD and RDW-CV were significantly associated with greater LV systolic dysfunction (p=0.013 and p<0.001) and correlated negatively with LVEF (r=−0.434 and −0.341, respectively; both p<0.001). RDW-SD was also associated with LV diastolic dysfunction (p=0.020).

Elevated NLR and RDW, particularly RDW-SD, were associated with worse LV systolic function, while RDW-SD also reflected LV diastolic dysfunction, supporting their potential as simple, inexpensive adjunctive biomarkers for assessing LV dysfunction in Nigerians with CHF.