Study on the correlation between NLR and MLR and pain during second eye phacoemulsification for age-related cataracts

Yin Peng; Sun Dawei; Dong Su; Wang Liyuan; Hou Yongsheng; Shao Dewang

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-3245.2025.01.010

Abstract：Objective To evaluate the association between systemic inflammation index and postoperative pain in second eye cataract surgery,and to assess its potential as a diagnostic biomarker.Methods This study adopted a prospective case-control design and included 80 patients who underwent planned cataract surgery at the ophthalmology department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University from January 2023 to January 2024.Among them,40 patients underwent cataract surgery for the first time(first eye group)and 40 patients underwent cataract surgery for the other eye within 3 months after completing one eye surgery(second eye group).The systemic inflammatory indicators,including neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR),platelet lymphocyte ratio(PLR),monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio(MLR),and systemic immune-inflammation index(SII),were calculated based on blood routine results,while postoperative pain was detected using visual analog scale(VAS).Differences in inflammatory markers and VAS between the two groups were compared.Results There were no significant differences in general conditions,demographic data,and cataract phacoemulsification surgery data between the first eye group and the second eye group(P>0.05).The NLR and MLR of the second eye group were significantly higher than those of the first eye group(t=2.289,2.329;P<0.05).The VAS of the second eye group(1.80±1.47)was significantly higher than that of the first eye group(0.79±0.95)(t=2.674;P=0.001),and both NLR and MLR were correlated with VAS(r=0.538,0.377;P<0.05).In addition,ROC analysis found that both NLR and MLR can serve as effective diagnostic biomarkers for postoperative pain in second eye cataract surgery(AUC=0.8259,0.816;P<0.05).Conclusion The higher levels of NLR and MLR found in patients with second eye cataracts are associated with postoperative pain and have the potential to serve as diagnostic biomarkers.Further research is needed to confirm the relevant conclusions.