Relationship of arteriovenous fistula stenosis and thrombosis with the platelet–lymphocyte ratio in hemodialysis patients

Background: The platelet–lymphocyte ratio, which was reported to have a strong relationship with chronic inflammation and thrombosis, is a useful biomarker. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the platelet–lymphocyte ratio, arteriovenous stenosis, and thrombosis in patients with chronic renal failure.Methods: Patients who were referred to our interventional radiology department due to arteriovenous fistula dysfunction from dialysis units between August 2015 and December 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. In the study, 95 patients with arteriovenous fistula access problems were included. Patients were divided into two groups: stenosis (n= 52) and thrombosis (n= 43). Thirty-six subjects with a patent left radiocephalic arteriovenous fistula proven by both color Doppler ultrasonography and clinically were added to the control group. Blood samples were obtained on the same day before the fistulography.Results: Platelet counts, lymphocyte counts, and platelet–lymphocyte ratio were found to be significantly different between the three groups. After the Bonferroni post hoc analysis, there was a significant difference between the stenosis and control group (p= 0.017), and the thrombosis and control group (p< 0.001) in terms of the platelet–lymphocyte ratio. No significant difference for any parameter was found between stenosis and thrombosis group.Conclusion: High levels of the platelet–lymphocyte ratio may be a supportive finding of arteriovenous fistula stenosis and thrombosis and can be taken into consideration during hemodialysis-dependent patients’ follow-up.