Preoperative Platelet to Lymphocyte Ratio Is Associated with Early Morbidity and Mortality after Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

<strong>Objective:</strong> To investigate the association of platelet to lymphocyte ratio to mortality and morbidity after coronary artery bypass grafting operation.<br /><strong>Methods:</strong> We evaluated records of 916 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting operation between January 2009 and May 2014 retrospectively. Patients were grouped as Group 1 (n = 604) if the platelet to lymphocyte ratio was above 142 and Group 2 (n = 312) if platelet to lymphocyte ratio was below 142.<br /><strong>Results:</strong> The number of patients who developed a neurologic event during the hospital stay and in the first postoperative month was 7 (1.2%) in Group 1 and 12 (3.8%) in Group 2 for which the difference was statistically significant (P = .007). Early term mortality occurred in 3 patients (0.5%) in Group 1 and in 10 patients (3.2%) in Group 2 for which the difference was statistically highly significant (P = .001). In univariate and multivariate regression analysis, the preoperative platelet to lymphocyte ratio was determined as an independent risk factor for occurrence of atrial fibrillation in the early postoperative period, reoperation for sternum dehiscence, occurrence of a neurologic event, prolonged stay in the hospital and mortality.<br /><strong>Conclusion:</strong> In this study, elevated levels of platelet to lymphocyte ratio were associated with mortality and morbidity after coronary artery bypass grafting operation.