Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio as a predictive marker for postoperative infectious complications: A systematic review and meta-analysis

•The neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio is a helpful marker for predicting postoperative infectious complication.•The neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio had a powerful prognostic value for postsurgical infection in patients with foreign implants.•The negative predictive value of the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio enables for reliable exclusion of postoperative infection.•No publication bias existed in the analysis and no studies affected the robustness of the combined result.