Abstract
PURPOSE: To examine the level of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-lymphocyte ratio in the pediatric patient group with keratoconus. METHODS: Patients aged 5-18 years with a diagnosis of keratoconus followed by the corneal department and children in the similar age group who were determined as controls were included in the study. Their topographies were evaluated. In both groups, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and mean platelet volume (MPV) were measured. RESULTS: The study group consisted of children aged 15 ± 1.4 years and the control group 13 ± 1.3 years of age. The mean central corneal thickness of the patients in the patient group was 445.64 μm, and in the control group was 532.25 μm. The NLR was 3.37 ± 1.04 in the patient group and 2.31 ± 0.82 in the control group. The PLR was significantly increased in the KC group (147.54 ± 41.36) than in the control group (118.71 ± 27.11) (P = 0.042). MPV in the patient group was 12.18 ± 2.76 and 7.00 ± 1.37 in the control group. This value was found to be statistically significant (P = 0.047) when the control group and the patient group were compared. CONCLUSION: Platelet/lymphocyte ratio and mean platelet volume, which are thought to be new markers of systemic inflammation, may be new indices in keratoconus in pediatric patients.