Abstract

The acute inflammatory response to tissue damage from percutaneous liver biopsy has not been systematically characterized in the immediate post-procedural period. This study investigated changes in hematologic parameters during the early period following ultrasound-guided liver mass biopsies, focusing on the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) as inflammatory markers. A total of 127 patients who underwent ultrasound-guided liver mass biopsy between January 2015 and March 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Complete blood counts were obtained from blood samples taken before and 4 hours after the procedure. NLR was calculated by dividing the neutrophil count by the lymphocyte count, and PLR by dividing the platelet count by the lymphocyte count. Based on pathology results, patients were categorized as having malignant (n=117) or benign (n=10) liver lesions. Pre- and post-procedure values were compared. The mean age of the patients was 66.9 ± 13.3 years. Post-procedurally, the median NLR increased from 2.68 to 3.19 (p

Key words: Biopsy, needle, hematologic tests, inflammation, liver neoplasms