A cross-sectional study depicted that in individuals diagnosed with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has a substantial and favorable relationship with the degree of steatosis and fibrosis with high specificity and sensitivity as assessed by transient elastography/controlled attenuated parameter (TE/CAP). Researchers aimed to explore NLR's diagnostic value as an indicator of steatosis and fibrosis severity.

In this study, secondary data from the medical records were utilized. For finding out outcomes of the study, receiver operating curve (ROC), t-test, correlation test, area under the curve (AUC) and multivariate linear regression were performed. With the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), statistical analyses were conducted. A total of 106 participants were enrolled. Notably, 77.4% had metabolic syndrome and 62.3% were females (mean age 57.29 years).

A strong and positive correlation was noted between CAP and TE (r = 0.648) when compared to TE and NLR (r = 0.621). Table 1 shows the cutoff point (with sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value [PPV] and negative predictive value [NPV] values) of NLR usage for evaluating moderate-to-severe steatosis and significant fibrosis.

Thus, NLR has a promising diagnostic value to predict the severity of steatosis and fibrosis in NAFLD.