©The Author(s) 2026. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Methodol. Mar 20, 2026; 16(1): 106277
Published online Mar 20, 2026. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v16.i1.106277
Published online Mar 20, 2026. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v16.i1.106277
Association of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in peritoneal dialysis patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Nanush Damarlapally, Department of Health Sciences, Houston Community College-Coleman Campus, Houston, TX 77030, United States
Roopeessh Vempati, Department of Internal Medicine, Trinity Health Oakland Hospital, Pontiac, MI 48341, United States
Denise Mourad, Afrasayab Khan, Department of Internal Medicine, Central Michigan University, Saginaw, MI 48602, United States
Srivatsa Surya Vasudevan, Department of Otolarngology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, LA 70112, United States
Gaurav Mathur, Department of Internal Medicine, Connecticut Institute for Communities, Danbury, CT 06810, United States
Prathibha Banda, Department of Internal Medicine, Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Secunderabad 500003, Telangāna, India
Harshavardhan Polamarasetty, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77004, United States
Shaylika Chauhan, Department of Internal Medicine, Geisinger Health System, Wikes-Barre, PA 18707, United States
Nirmala Manjappachar, Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, United States
Talha Bhatti, Department of Cardiology, Lower Bucks Hospital, Bristol, PA 19007, United States
Rupak Desai, Department of Outcomes Research, Independent Researcher, Atlanta, GA 30079, United States
Author contributions: Damarlapally N and Vempati R contributed to methodology, performed screening and feasibility assessments, conducted data curation and data extraction, drafted the original manuscript, reviewed and edited the manuscript, and supervised the project; Mourad D and Bhatti T contributed to data extraction, writing the original draft, reviewing and editing the manuscript; Vasudevan SS performed statistical analysis and contributed to writing the original draft, reviewing and editing the manuscript; Mathur G and Khan A contributed to data extraction; Banda P and Polamarasetty H participated in data extraction and manuscript review and editing; Chauhan S and Manjappachar N reviewed and edited the manuscript, and managed project administration; Desai R conceptualized and designed the study, developed the methodology and software, performed formal analysis, provided resources, participated in writing and editing the manuscript, and managed project administration; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest to disclose related to this manuscript.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Corresponding author: Shaylika Chauhan, MD, FACP, Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Geisinger Health System, 1000 E Mountain Blvd, Wikes-Barre, PA 18707, United States. drshaylikachauhan@gmail.com
Received: February 21, 2025
Revised: May 6, 2025
Accepted: July 4, 2025
Published online: March 20, 2026
Processing time: 354 Days and 16.8 Hours
Revised: May 6, 2025
Accepted: July 4, 2025
Published online: March 20, 2026
Processing time: 354 Days and 16.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Inflammation plays a silent but an important role in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD). This meta-analysis reveals that a simple, and inexpensive blood marker such as elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (> 3) can significantly predict all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in this vulnerable group. With data from over 4300 patients, our study also identified age as a key confounder, urging clinicians to interpret NLR levels with caution in older adults. These findings position NLR as a powerful, accessible tool for early risk detection and tailored intervention in PD care.