Diagnostic Utility of the Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio and Absolute Lymphocyte Count in Distinguishing Thyroiditis vs Other Benign Causes of Thyroid Enlargement

The gold standard in the assessment of thyroid disorders is histopathological examination, as the NLR is not specific for thyroid disorders, and this should not be considered as a diagnostic test alone. The NLR, although a cheap and noninvasive marker, has limited value in the diagnosis of thyroid disorders, while the ALC provides additional specificity to this inflammatory profile, which showed significant results in current research. More studies and other inflammatory markers with large sample sizes are needed to establish the correlation between ALC and different thyroid disorders.