Blood Samples and Nutritional Indexes
Hematological and biochemical tests were conducted on the venous blood
samples obtained from each patient immediately before routine carotid
angiography. Determination of the counts and types of shaped elements of
blood was performed for each patient using an automated hematological
analyzer (Abbott Cell-Dyn 3700; Abbott Laboratory, Abbott Park,
Illinois, USA). Biochemical measurements were performed using the
standard methods. The CONUT score is calculated based on three
parameters: serum albumin level, total cholesterol level, and total
lymphocyte count (Table 1). Patients were divided into two groups
according to the CONUT score: (i) normal nutrition (<2) and
(ii) malnutrition (≥2). Prognostic nutritional index (PNI) was
calculated using the following formula: 10 x serum albumin value (g/dL)
+ 0.005 x total lymphocyte count in the peripheral blood (per
mm3). Patients were divided into two groups based on a
PNI cutoff value of 40: (i) low PNI (≤40) and (ii) high PNI
(>40).