BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common chronic inflammatory 
disorder and is associated with progressive destruction of synovial joints and 
physical disability. Therapies with known benefits include disease-modifying 
antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), such as methotrexate, as well as more recent 
biologic agents, such as tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (anti-TNF therapy).
METHOD: This was a retrospective study, which included 205 RA and 112 early RA 
(ERA) patients from the Rheumatology Clinic at Gaziantep University School of 
Medicine Research Center as well as 104 healthy controls.
RESULTS: The mean neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was found to be 3.15 ± 
2.64 in the patient group and 2.03 ± 0.94 in the control group. The mean 
platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) was 162.39 ± 107.76 in the patient group and 
131.23 ± 48.09 in the control group. There was a significant difference in both 
the NLR and PLR between the patient and control groups (both p < 0.01). There 
was a significant difference in both the NLR and PLR between patients with 
active disease and remission (both p < 0.001) in RA, including anti-TNF therapy 
and DMARDs groups. There was a significant difference in NLR (p = 0.001) but not 
in PLR (p = 0.051) between active disease and remission in ERA.
CONCLUSION: The results of the present study suggest that the NLR may be 
considered a useful marker of disease activity in RA and one that can aid the 
diagnosis of ERA. The PLR can be used in the assessment of disease activity in 
RA patients undergoing anti-TNF therapy but is not suitable for diagnosing ERA.