Luo Z, et al. - In this observational prospective cohort study, researchers compared the utility of neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR, a marker of inflammation and/or stress) to levels of leukocytes and C-reactive protein (CRP) for predicting weaning failure in patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). This study was conducted in China and enrolled 269 consecutive patients receiving IMV. They found that, compared with leukocyte levels and CRP values, a better prediction of failure was enabled by NLR. Furthermore, they noted that, in terms of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and diagnostic accuracy, the best combination comprised NLR > 11, leukocyte counts > 10.5×10⁹/L, and CRP > 58 mg/L prior to weaning. Overall, a possible utility of NLR was suggested as a marker for predicting weaning failure.