Evaluative value of peripheral blood leukocyte counts on disorders of consciousness in patients with acute cerebral infarction

Objective To investigate the evaluative values of peripheral blood leukocyte, neutrophil and lymphocyte counts on disorders of consciousness (DOC) in patients with acute cerebral infarction. Methods A total of 136 patients with acute cerebral infarction admitted to the Affiliated Central Hospital of Chongqing University from January to December 2018 were selected in this study. According to Glasgow coma scale (GCS) at admission, they were divided into DOC group (GCS≤14, n=59) and non-DOC group (GCS=15, n=77). The absolute values of peripheral blood leukocyte count and neutrophil count, percentage of neutrophils, absolute value of lymphocytes, percentage of lymphocytes, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, and common vascular risk factors (such as age, gender, hypertension, diabetes, atrial fibrillation and hyperlipidemia) were compared between the 2 groups. In addition, the relationships between the above peripheral blood indexes and GCS score were analyzed in the DOC group. Results The absolute values of leukocytes and neutrophils, percentage of neutrophils and proportion of patients with atrial fibrillation were significantly higher in the DOC group than the non-DOC group, but there were no statistical differences in the absolute value of lymphocytes, percentage of lymphocytes, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, age, gender, history of hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia between the 2 groups. In addition, the absolute values of leukocytes and neutrophils and percentage of neutrophils in peripheral blood were negatively correlated with GCS scores. The higher the above 3 indexes were, the lower the GCS scores were. After adjustment for atrial fibrillation and other vascular risk factors by analysis of covariance, the above negative correlations still existed. Conclusion The absolute values of peripheral blood leukocytes and neutrophils, and percentage of neutrophils are closely associated with decreased GCS score in acute cerebral infarction patients.