Predictive Value of the Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) to Predict the Development of Preeclampsia and Pregnancy Induced Hypertension at 1^st Trimester

Introduction: Hypertensive disorder in pregnancy affects 4 to 6 percent of all pregnancies and carries risks for the both baby and the mother. Only a few groups of women who are at high-risk pregnancies are received prophylaxis Aspirin, more than 15 percent of women develop pre-eclampsia with a single minor risk factor. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to compare the 1^st trimester NLR value of normotensive, pregnancy induced hypertensive and pre-eclamptic pregnant women. The study was conducted with a sample of 416, antenatal patients who were admitted to ward 25, at Colombo North Teaching Hospital Ragama. Data was collected as separated three groups. NLR value was calculated separately and ANOVA test was used to analyze the 3 categorical data. Post HOC test was done to assess the multiple comparison. Results: The prevalence rates of pregnancy induced hypertension and pre-eclampsia among the pregnant women were 8.6% and 5.7%. The mean NLR values of normotensive group was 2.708, pregnancy induced hypertensive group was 2.650 and pre eclamptic group was 3.789. There was a significant difference in NLR value between pre eclamptic group and other two groups with P value of <0.001 (Corresponding 95% upper bound for the CI: −0.7132). There was no significant difference of the NLR vales of normotensive and pregnancy induced hypertensive groups (P value of 0.894). Conclusion: The 1^st trimester NLR value of pre eclamptic patients significantly increased compared to normotensive women.