Abstract

Background: Liver fibrosis is an inevitable process in CHB. Many inflammatory cytokines, such as transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) and platelet-derived growth factor, have been shown to activate hepatic stellate cells and result in advanced extracellular matrix deposition, which will eventually lead to liver fibrosis. The neutrophil to lymphocyte (N/L) ratio is a noninvasive and inexpensive marker of inflammation which can be simply acquired from the complete blood count. This marker combines data from two distinct pathways, lymphocytes which portray the regulatory pathway and neutrophils which cause ongoing inflammation.

Methods: The study was conducted on patients with Chronic Hepatitis B infection admitted in GEMS hospital. The study population was 50 patients and all were subjected through history, clinical examination and laboratory. The data were then analysed and appropriate statistical analysis was done.

Results: The study showed that patients with Fibrosis (Stages 3 & 4), correlated with Mean Neutrophil Lymphocyte ratio was proven to be statistically significant. NLR correlates positively with FIB – 4.

Conclusion: The NLR value is higher in HBV patients than in healthy individuals. It can be used as a predictive factor of disease severity in patients with chronic HBV.