Objective To investigate the predictive value of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by using the retrospectively analysis method .Methods The blood cell differential counting in 150 patients with RA ,101 patients with non‐RA diseases and 151 individuals undergoing the healthy physical examination were selected in a hospital from January 2014 and February 2015 .Blood cells classification and count were performed .Then the NLR difference was compared among these three groups .The clinical and laboratory data in the patients with RA were collected and the association between NLR and other in‐flammatory indicators was statistically analyzed .Moreover ,the diagnostic and predictive value of NLR for RA was also analyzed by using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve .Results The NLR level in the RA patients was significantly higher than that in the non‐RA patients with autoimmune disease and the healthy controls .The diagnostic sensitivity of NLR and neutrophil count(NC) for RA was equivalent(62 .4% vs .67 .5% ) ,but NLR had higher diagnostic specificity than NC (85 .5% vs .68 .7% ) . The correlation analysis indicated that NLR revealed a weak but significant correlation with ESR (r=0 .210 ,P=0 .043) and CRP (r=0 .149 ,P=0 .043) respectively .Conclusion NLR has more predictive value for RA than those traditional inflammatory mark‐ers including CRP ,NC and lymphocyte count ,which is expected to serve as a new biomarker for independently predicting the RA in‐flammation severity .

Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of the T-SPOT.TB in connective tissue disease(CTD) combined with tuberculosis.Methods This is a case-control study.Forty-four patients with CTD combined with tuberculosis were enrolled from Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from September 2011 to July 2012.Another forty-four CTD patients without tuberculosis were evaluated as a control group.The diagnostic value of T-SPOT.TB and risk factors of the false negative results by T-SPOT.TB were analyzed.Results The sensitivity of T-SPOT.TB (70.5％,31/44) was significantly higher than that of TST(27.3％,12/44) for CTD combined with tuberculosis patients (x2 =16.42,P ＜ 0.001).The specificity of T-SPOT.TB and TST were 93.2％ (41/44) and 88.6％ (39/44),respectively.There was no significant difference between the specificity (x2 =0.14,P =0.711).The positive predictive value of T-SPOT.TB was 91.2％ (31/34).The negative predictive value was 75.9％ (41/54).Youden's index was 0.64,and the positive likelihood ratio was 10.3.All the index were higher than that of TST (0.16 and 2.4).While the negative likelihood ratio which was 0.32 was lower than that of TST (0.82).When spot forming cell frequencies of T-SPOT.TB of PBMC was set to 38SFCs/106 PBMC,it had the best cut-off value.Age,use of glucocorticoids or immunosuppressant therapy,lymphocytopenia and hypoalbuminemia were not associated with false negative T-SPOT.TB assay.Conclusion The T-SPOT.TB assay is much more useful than TST for diagnosing CTD combined with tuberculosis.