PLATELET TO LYMPHOCYTE RATIO MAY BE HELPFUL TO PREDICT POST-TONSILLECTOMY BLEEDING IN OSAS PATIENTS

Materials and Methods: One hundred and twenty-eight adult patients who had undergone tonsillectomy between January 2014 and March 2020 were included in this retrospective study.

Demographic information, indications for surgery, postoperative complications, hemoglobin level, counts of neutrophil, lymphocyte, and platelet as well as Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) and Platelet to Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR) values of each patient were recorded.

Results: Of the patients, 45.3% (n: 58) had undergone tonsillectomy owing to chronic/recurrent tonsillitis (CRT) and 54.7% (n: 70) owing to obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Hemoglobin level and lymphocyte count were significantly higher in the OSAS group while the CRT group had greater NLR and PLR values (p<0.001, p=0.006, p=0.027, and p<0,001 respectively). Post-operative bleeding occurred in 11.7% of the patients (n:15). In the OSAS group, PLR was significantly higher in the patients who had postoperative bleeding compared to those who did not (124.6±30.0 and 103.2±33.0 respectively, p=0.033). In adult patients who underwent tonsillectomy because of OSAS, a PLR value higher than 121.7 is predictive of bleeding with 70% sensitivity and 79% specificity.

Conclusion: Higher PLR and NLR values may be beneficial to diagnosing CRT. A high preoperative PLR value may help predict post-tonsillectomy bleeding in OSAS patients. Keywords : Palatine Tonsil, tonsillectomy, Hemorrhage, Sleep Apnea, Obstructive