Objective: To investigate the utility of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio in predicting steatosis, a severe complication of obesity, in obese pediatric patients.

Material and Method: Patients diagnosed with obesity followed at the pediatric gastroenterology outpatient clinic between June 2020 and November 2021 were included in this study. The patients were divided into two groups based on the presence of hepatosteatosis. Neutrophil-to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and plateletto-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were compared between the two groups.

Results: There were 34 patients in the group without steatosis and 35 patients in the group with steatosis. Obese patients in the non-steatosis group had a mean body weight of 67.5 kg, mean height of 151.5 cm, mean BMI of 27.8 and a mean BMI SDS of 2.4. Obese patients in the non-steatosis group had a mean body weight of 62 kg, mean height of 150 cm, mean BMI of 27.1 and a mean BMI SDS of 2.3. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of body weight, height, BMI and BMI SDS values (p>0.05). When the groups were compared, the steatosis group showed higher NLR and PLR compared to non-steatosis group. The NLR values were 0.94 (0.78-1.54) in the non-steatosis group and 1.57 (1.05-2.21) in the steatosis group (p =0.005). The PLR values were 83.9 (67.3-111.7) in the non-steatosis group and 106.6 (93.4-138.2) in the steatosis group (p =0.003).

Conclusion: NLR and PLR can be used as simple, easy and independent markers for the prediction of steatosis in obese patients.