Introduction: The platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) is gaining attention as a biomarker for various diseases, including Crohn's disease (CD). Assessing CD activity usually involves invasive ileocolonoscopy, which limits its practicality. This study aims to evaluate the correlation between PLR and endoscopic activity in CD patients.
Methods: This retrospective descriptive and analytical study was conducted between January 2019 and April 2023 at a University Hospital, including 116 CD patients. Patients were categorized based on their simplified endoscopic score for Crohn's disease (SES-CD): inactive/mild activity (SES-CD ≤ 6) and moderate/severe activity (SES-CD > 6). Data were analyzed using SPSS v26, and Pearson's coefficient was used to assess the correlation between PLR and disease activity (p < 0.05).
Results: The study found that patients with moderate/severe flare-ups (SES-CD > 6) had significantly higher PLR (336.7 vs. 205.4; p = 0.005). A positive correlation between PLR and endoscopic activity was observed (r = 0.271, p = 0.005), with an area under the ROC curve of 0.646 (p = 0.009).
Conclusion: PLR demonstrates a significant correlation with endoscopic activity in CD and could serve as a cost-effective, non-invasive biomarker for predicting moderate to severe disease activity.