Objective: To reveal whether if neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) rates are useful or not in children followed-up due to pathological cervical lymphadenopathy (LAP) of unknown etiology who have a normal hematologic examination.

Methods: A total of 100 children admitted to the otorhinolaryngology clinic between 2014 and 2017 with the complaint of swelling in the neck without any etiology revealed on examination and established with the diagnosis of idiopathic pathological LAP were retrospectively included in the study. The control group consisted of 100 children who did not have any infectious condition and could be considered healthy in terms of examination and laboratory findings. Patients' and the control group's age, gender, clinical history, disease course and examination findings were screened from the patients' records in the clinic.

Results: Mean white blood cell and lymphocyte count parameters in the patient group were higher than the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.008 and p=0.001, respectively). In the patient group, mean NLR and PLR values were significantly lower than the control group (p=0.009 and p=0.020, respectively).

Conclusion: NLR and PLR rates may be well correlated with inflammation in children followed-up due to pathologic cervical LAP with unknown etiology.