Paola Dettori, Panagiotis Paliogiannis*, Rosa M. Pascale, Angelo Zinellu, Arduino A. Mangoni and Gianfranco Pintus Pages 2170 - 2179 ( 10 )
Carotid artery disease is commonly encountered in clinical practice and accounts for approximately 30% of ischemic strokes in the general population. Numerous biomarkers have been investigated as predictors of the onset and progression of carotid disease, the occurrence of cerebrovascular complications, and overall prognosis. Among them, blood cell count (BCC) indexes of systemic inflammation might be particularly useful, from a pathophysiological and clinical point of view, given the inflammatory nature of the atherosclerotic process. The aim of this review is to discuss the available evidence regarding the role of common BCC indexes, such as the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), monocyte to lymphocyte ratio (MLR), platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW), and red cell distribution width (RDW), in the diagnosis and risk stratification of carotid artery disease, and their potential clinical applications.
Carotid artery disease, atherosclerosis, NLR, PLR, MLR, RDW, MPV.
Center for Cure and Health, Sassari, Department of Medical, Surgical and Experimental Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari, Department of Medical, Surgical and Experimental Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari, Department of Clinical Pharmacology, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari