Abstract
Abstract
When critically ill pediatric patients are admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), they may face significant morbidity and mortality. Therefore, it is essential to identify at-risk patients early to manage their conditions promptly and navigate through the complexities of their illnesses. This study aims to evaluate the prognostic value of platelet count, Neutrophil/Lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and the Platelets/Lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in children undergoing medical care in the PICU.Over a period of 6 months, a prospective study involving 91 PICU patients was conducted. Upon admission, patients underwent detailed history-taking, comprehensive systemic evaluations, and standard laboratory tests that encompassed complete blood counts, C-reactive protein levels, coagulation profiles, as well as liver and kidney function assessments. Subsequently, the NLR and PLR values were determined. The median NLR was slightly elevated in non-survivors compared to survivors, whereas the PLR was higher in survivors, although these differences were not statistically significant. Platelet levels emerged as a predictive factor for mortality, with an AUC of 0.748, a cutoff value of 244.5, and a p-value of 0.002. Additionally, NLR showed a negative correlation with the Glasgow coma score and a positive correlation with age, TLC, CRP, and ALT, with correlation coefficients of (
r
=-0.253,
p
= 0.016), (
r
= 0.320 ,
p
= 0.002), (
r
= 0.292,
p
= 0.005), (
r
= 0.242 ,
p
= 0.027), and (
r
= 0.256 ,
p
= 0.028) respectively. While no statistically significant relationship was observed between NLR and PLR and non-survivors, platelet count showed moderate discriminatory performance for prognostic evaluation and may be used as part of early risk stratification in critically ill patients.