The Role of Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio, Platelet-Lymphocyte Ratio, and ABO Blood Groups in Early Pregnancy Loss
Ngwu Amauche Martina *
Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Background: Intrauterine pregnancy loss referred to natural pregnancy loss before the twentieth weeks of gestation. Women who show signs of stress are three times more likely to lose their pregnancy during the first three weeks. Blood group system has been linked with development of mental stress, anxiety or disease. Medical literature has also increasingly supported neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet- lymphocyte ratio (PLR) as strong indicators of inflammation and oxidative stress.
Place and Duration of Study: Department of Haematology, Gynaecology andObstetrics unit both of Enugu State University of Science and Technology Teaching Hospital, between August and December 2023.
Methodology: A total of 100 participants were enrolled comprising individuals who had experienced between 1-2 miscarriages. Fifty healthy normal pregnant women who had no history of miscarriage were used as control. Demographic information such as age and number of miscarriages was obtained through questionnaire. Neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte, eosinophil, packed cell volume (PCV) and platelet (PLT) were analyzed by automated haematology analyzer, while ABO and Rhesus blood group were done by tile method. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 25. Analysis of variance (ANOVA), Chi-square test and pie chartwere used. P-Value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.
Results: Out of the 100 women, blood group A was 27, B was 24, AB was 1 and O was 48. Platelet count and NLR values were higher in miscarriage group compared to healthy normal pregnant women (p=0.039 and <0.001 respectively). Lymphocyte count were found to be lower in miscarriage group compared to healthy normal pregnant women (p=0.042). There was no significant relationship between NLR, PLR and ABO blood group (p=0.199).
Conclusion: Increased platelet count and NLR were observed in women who had early pregnancy loss. Measurement of low cost test like platelet count and NLR before twentieth weeks should be recommended as one of the ways to predict pregnancy leading to spontaneous abortion.
Keywords: ABO, NLR, pregnancy, loss, ratio, miscarriage, platelet