What Is the Impact of Baseline Inflammatory and Hemostatic Indicators with the Risk of Mortality in Severe Inpatients with COVID-19: A Retrospective Study.

The purpose of the study was to investigate baseline inflammatory, hemostatic indicators and new-onset deep vein thrombosis (DVT) with the risk of mortality in COVID-19 inpatients. In this single-center study, a total of 401 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine were enrolled from December 1, 2022 to January 31, 2023. The basic information, first laboratory examination results, imaging examination, and outcome-related indicators were compared between patients in the moderate and severe subgroups. We found that baseline D-dimer and baseline absolute neutrophil count (ANC) levels were associated with new-onset DVT and death in severe hospitalized patients with COVID-19. The odds ratio (OR) of baseline D-dimer and baseline ANC with mortality was 1.18 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08-1.28; P < .001) and 1.13 (95% CI, 1.06-1.21; P < .001). Baseline ANC was associated with the risk of death in severe hospitalized COVID-19 patients, irrespective of the DVT status. In addition, a significantly higher serum neutrophil activity was observed in severe COVID-19 inpatients with DVT or those deceased during hospital stay. New-onset DVT partially mediated the association between baseline D-dimer (indirect effect: 0.011, estimated mediating proportion: 67.0%), baseline ANC (indirect effect: 0.006, estimated mediating proportion: 48.7%), and mortality in severe hospitalized patients with COVID-19. In summary, baseline D-dimer and baseline absolute neutrophil count (ANC) levels were associated with the mortality in severe hospitalized patients with COVID-19, especially DVT inpatients. New-onset DVT partially mediated the association between baseline D-dimer, baseline ANC, and mortality in severe hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Significance of absolute neutrophil count before allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in adult patients with aplastic anemia.

The impact of absolute neutrophil count (ANC) before allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) on the outcomes for patients with aplastic anemia (AA) remains unclear. We retrospectively evaluated the relationship between ANC before transplantation and patient outcomes, involving 883 adult Japanese patients with AA who underwent allogeneic HSCT as their first transplantation between 2008 and 2020. Patients were divided into three groups based on ANC: 0/µL (n = 116); 1-199 (n = 210); and ≥ 200 (n = 557). In the low ANC groups (ANC < 200), patient age was higher, previous anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) treatments were infrequent, duration from diagnosis to transplantation was shorter, hematopoietic cell transplantation-comorbidity index (HCT-CI) was higher, ATG-based conditioning was used infrequently, and peripheral blood stem cell from related donor and cord blood were used frequently. In multivariate analysis, patient age, previous ATG treatment, HCT-CI, stem cell source, and ANC before transplantation were significantly associated with 5-year overall survival (OS) ("ANC ≥ 200": 80.3% vs. "ANC 1-199": 71.7% vs. "ANC 0": 64.4%). The cumulative incidence of bacterial infection, invasive fungal disease, and early death before engraftment were significantly higher in the low ANC groups. Among patients with ANC of zero before transplantation, younger patient age, shorter duration from diagnosis to transplantation, HCT-CI of 0, and bone marrow from related donor as stem cell source were significantly associated with better OS. Consequently, ANC before allogeneic HSCT was found to be a significant prognostic factor in adult patients with AA. Physicians should pay attention to ANC before transplantation.

Prognostic Significance of Pre-Treatment Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio and Platelet-Lymphocyte Ratio in Head and Neck Malignancies.

Introduction: Carcinoma is the second most common cause of death worldwide. The neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and the platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are essential markers of inflammation and tumorigenesis in various cancers including head and neck cancers. Pretreatment platelet- lymphocytic ratio can be used as an independent predictor of mortality whereas neutrophil- lymphocytic ratio is an independent predictor of recurrence. The main aim of this study is to compare the pre-treatment neutrophil lymphocyte ratio and platelet-lymphocyte ratio in the patients of head and neck malignancies with those of the control group. Material and Method: 100 patients with histologically diagnosed cases of head and neck malignancies. Age and sex matched healthy subjects attending Otorhinolaryngology out-patient department for any other complaints (100 control subjects). Complete blood count had been done to calculate absolute neutrophil count and absolute lymphocyte count. Results: The mean age of the subjects in the study group was 55.73 ± 11.56 years. In control group, the mean age group was 54.11 ± 10.46 years. NLR and PLR significantly increased in cases than controls. NLR associated with T stage, histological type and histological grade but not with site and nodal involvement. PLR associated with T stage, metastasis but not with the histological grade, histological type, site and nodal involvement. Conclusion: From this study, we conclude that pre-treatment NLR and PLR were closely associated both with the size of primary tumor and also with the stage of malignant disease in patients of head and neck malignancies.

Absolute neutrophil count clinical trial eligibility criteria for pediatric oncology phase I and phase I/II trials by sponsorship.

Normal absolute neutrophil count (ANC) variations, as seen with Duffy-null associated neutrophil count (DANC), are not accounted for in trial eligibility, which may contribute to racial enrollment disparities. We describe ANC eligibility for pediatric oncology phase I/II clinical trials according to primary sponsorship from 2010 to 2023 using ClinicalTrials.gov. Out of 438 trials, 20% were industry-sponsored. Total 17% of trials required ANC ≥1500 cells/µL for enrollment; however, industry-sponsored trials were significantly more likely to require ANC ≥1500 cells/µL than non-industry-sponsored trials (odds ratio 2.53, 95% confidence interval: 1.39-4.62; p < .001). These data suggest laboratory exclusion criteria are one possible mechanism for pediatric clinical trial enrollment disparities.

Assessment on the use of allopurinol to improve safety and efficacy of mercaptopurine in pediatric patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Lymphoma during maintenance therapy.

BACKGROUND: Mercaptopurine is an important component of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and lymphoma (LLy) maintenance therapy. The 6-thioguanine nucleosides (6-TGN) are believed to be the primary contributor to myelosuppression and immunosuppressive effects, while 6-methylmercaptopurine (6-MMPN) is believed to be responsible for several toxicities including hepatotoxicity, pancreatitis, and hypoglycemia. Previous reports suggest the addition of allopurinol may reduce these toxicities. AIMS: To assess the use of allopurinol to improve both safety and efficacy of mercaptopurine in pediatric patients with ALL and LLy during maintenance therapy. Secondary objectives included evaluating patient tolerability and skewed metabolism. In addition, we also analyzed mercaptopurine daily dose reduction upon allopurinol initiation. METHODS AND RESULTS: The primary endpoint was time within goal ANC prior to and after initiation of allopurinol. Secondary endpoints included; improvement in selective toxicities (hepatotoxicity, pancreatitis, and hypoglycemia) and 6-MMPN to 6-TGN ratio prior to and after allopurinol initiation. In addition, an exploratory endpoint assessing mercaptopurine daily dose reduction prior to and after allopurinol initiation was included. Sixteen patients met inclusion criteria and 15 (94%) of which were included in this study. Median percent of maintenance days within goal ANC prior to and after initiation of allopurinol was 27.8 (IQR 22.6-44.9) and 41.6 (IQR 20.2-58.2) respectively. All patients experienced selective toxicities; 15 (100%) hepatotoxicity, 1 (7%) pancreatitis, and 3 (20%) hypoglycemia. Improvement of toxicities was seen in 13/15 (87%), 1/1 (100%), and 2/3 (67%) respectively. Average 6-MMPN:6-TGN ratio prior to allopurinol initiation was 304:1 and after, allopurinol initiation improved to 15:1, resulting in a 95% reduction. Average mercaptopurine dose prior to and after allopurinol initiation decreased by about 56% (63 to 28 mg/m2 /day). CONCLUSION: Results suggest that the use of allopurinol in pediatric patients with ALL and LLy receiving mercaptopurine during maintenance therapy is both safe and effective.

How Reliable Is the Absolute Synovial Polymorphonuclear Neutrophil Cell Count in Diagnosing Periprosthetic Joint Infection?

BACKGROUND: Diagnosing periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a daunting task for even the most experienced orthopedic surgeons, as there is currently no test available that can provide absolute accuracy. Utilizing an established synovial indicator for detecting PJI without incurring additional costs or resources would be the optimal solution for predicting the presence of infection. Therefore, we hypothesized that synovial absolute neutrophil count (ANC) would improve the diagnostic accuracy of chronic knee and hip PJI. METHODS: The study included 260 patients (134 men and 126 women, mean age of 70 years [range, 26 to 89]) who underwent aspiration during preoperative workup. Of these, 109 patients (41.9%) were diagnosed with chronic PJI (50 knees, 59 hips), and 151 patients (58.1%) were diagnosed as aseptic (94 knees, 57 hips). Data obtained from all patients included age, sex, procedure type (total hip or total knee arthroplasty), operation side, synovial white blood cell count (cells/µL), synovial polymorphonuclear cells percentage, and synovial α-defensin immunoassay value at the admission were retrieved from the electronic medical record. RESULTS: The calculated optimal threshold for synovial ANC of 1,415.5 cells/µL was associated with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.930 for chronic knee PJI diagnosis. The calculated optimal threshold for synovial ANC of 2,247 cells/µL was associated with an AUC of 0.905 for chronic hip PJI diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: This study has conclusively shown that the synovial ANC serves as a valuable marker in the complicated diagnosis of PJI. This highly effective and efficient approach should be utilized for obtaining further information through standard tests, thereby ruling out the possibility of PJI. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.

Isolated benign neutropenia in healthy individuals from Saudi Arabia's central region: A comprehensive study.

Objectives: Neutrophils are the most common cell types in circulation and are considered the first line of defense in the immune system against microorganisms. This study was undertaken to investigate the occurrence of isolated benign neutropenia (IBN) among healthy individuals in the central region of Saudi Arabia. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed complete blood count tests as part of routine checkups for chronic health conditions from April to September 2022. The 10,442 participants were randomly selected and their medical records were reviewed for neutropenia and mean absolute neutrophil counts (ANCs) were calculated. Descriptive analysis was employed to assess the prevalence of IBN across various demographic factors, such as age, gender, and nationality. Results: The prevalence of IBN in the central region of Saudi Arabia was found to be 2.82% across the entire cohort of participants. The mean ANC among all participants was 4.55 × 109/L. The prevalence of neutropenia was higher in male participants compared with female. Male neutropenic had a lower mean ANC than female; however, the differences were not statistically different (P > 0.05). The prevalence of neutropenia was lower in Saudi participants compared with non-Saudis. While the mean ANC was lower among Saudis as compared with non-Saudi participants. However, the differences were not statistically different (P > 0.05). Conclusion: This is the first study from the central region of Saudi Arabia that determined the prevalence of chronic benign neutropenia among healthy individuals. The prevalence of IBN was found to be relatively low. Furthermore, neutropenia was more frequent in males than females. Moreover, male neutropenic individuals have a lower ANC.

Prognostic utility of neutrophil-to-albumin ratio in surgically treated oral squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to evaluate the prognostic significance of preoperative neutrophil-to-albumin ratio (NAR) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). METHODS: A total of 622 patients with surgically treated OSCC were enrolled. NAR was defined as the absolute neutrophil count divided by the serum albumin level in peripheral blood before the radical surgery. Cox proportional hazards model were used to discover survival outcome-associated factors. RESULTS: The optimal cut-off of NAR to predict overall survival (OS) was determined to be 0.1. In Cox model, high NAR was identified as an independent negative prognosticator of OS, cancer-specific survival, and recurrence-free survival (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.503, 1.958, and 1.727, respectively; all p < 0.05). The NAR-based nomogram accurately predicted OS (concordance index: 0.750). CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that preoperative NAR is a convenient and effective prognostic marker for OSCC and NAR-based nomogram can be a promising prognostic tool in clinical setting.

Clozapine and neutrophil response in patients of African descent: A six-month, multinational, prospective, open-label clinical trial.

INTRODUCTION: Clozapine is the most effective antipsychotic for treatment-resistant schizophrenia, but it is markedly underutilized, particularly in the US Black population, partly because of concern over clozapine-associated low absolute neutrophil count (ANC). People of African descent have a lower normative ANC range than the White population, which is associated with a specific "ACKR1-null" ("Duffy null") CC genotype (SNP rs2814778) on the ACKR1 gene, termed benign ethnic neutropenia (BEN). The range of ANC variability and safety of clozapine have not been established in people with BEN or examined prospectively in people of African descent. METHODS: We completed a multisite, 6-month, prospective, open-label clinical trial of clozapine treatment in people of African descent with schizophrenia spectrum disorders for whom clozapine was clinically indicated, with or without the ACKR1-null genotype. We examined clozapine safety and weekly ANC during clozapine treatment and evaluated ANC variability by ACKR1-null genotype, sex, study site, and clozapine dosing using repeated measures analysis of covariance. Genotype was assayed using TaqMan® technology. RESULTS: We enrolled 274 participants, of whom 227 (82.8 %) completed 6 months of clozapine treatment. There was one case of severe neutropenia (<500 cells/mm3) (0.36 %) over 1467.6 person-months of clozapine exposure. This participant recovered without sequelae after discontinuation of clozapine. Of the 249 participants with known genotypes, 199 (79.9 %) had the ACKR1-null genotype. Neutropenia (<1500 cells/mm3) occurred significantly more often in the ACKR1-null group (33 % [65/199]) than in those with the T allele (6 % (3/50); p < 0.001). Fourteen (5 %) patients discontinued due to adverse events. Rates of infection and fever were low and sialorrhea was the commonest side effect (N = 187, 68 %). CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the largest prospective clozapine trial in people of African descent. Severe neutropenia was rare, despite the high prevalence (80 %) of the ACKR1-null genotype. Our findings suggest that clozapine can be used safely in Black patients including those with BEN.

Monocyte-to-lymphocyte, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte and neutrophil-to-monocyte plus lymphocyte ratios in children with active tuberculosis: A multicentre study.

AIM: Higher number of monocytes and neutrophils may correlate with active tuberculosis (TB) in children. However, the few paediatric studies available are limited by the small numbers of children with TB disease or infection included. METHODS: We calculated the monocyte-to-lymphocyte-ratio (MLR), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte-ratio (NLR) and neutrophil-to-monocyte-plus-lymphocyte-ratio (NMLR) in children with active TB, latent TB infection (LTBI), other infectious and non-infectious conditions and healthy children evaluated in two referral centres in Rome. RESULTS: Overall, 649 children were included (41.8% females, mean age of 5.74 years). MLR, NLR and NMLR values were always significantly higher in patients with TB compared with the other groups (p < 0.001). Considering the entire population with the outcome of TB diagnosis, NMLR, with a cut-off of 1.2, had a sensitivity of 63% and a specificity of 76% (AUC: 0.71 [0.64-0.78]); NLR, with a cut-off of 1.5, had a sensitivity of 61% and a specificity of 79% (AUC: 0.72 [0.65-0.79]); MLR, considering a cut-off of 0.2, was less sensitive (56%) but more specific (82%) with a similar AUC (0.72 [0.65-0.79]). CONCLUSION: Our study provides further evidence that MLR, NLR and NMLR can serve as first level diagnostics to support the clinical suspicion of TB in children.

Increased absolute lymphocyte count, increased absolute neutrophil count and low platelet to lymphocyte ratio as predicting factors in the superior disease control of refractory/relapsing gynecologic malignancies with anti PD-1 therapy: 10 years of experience in a single institution.

OBJECTIVE: Immune checkpoint inhibitors are rapidly being used in solid and hematologic malignancies, including gynecologic cancers. The high mortality and relapsing rates of advanced gynecologic malignancies remain a challenging issue. This study aimed to identify the predicting factors associated with survival prognosis and disease control in patients with refractory/relapsing (R/R) gynecologic malignancies receiving anti PD-1 therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 49 patients diagnosed with R/R gynecologic malignancies between July 2012 and June 2019 in Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan. Among the 49 patients, 6 were excluded due to incomplete medical records or not receiving anti PD-1 therapy. The remaining 43 patients were further divided into responsive and non-responsive groups according to disease control for predicting prognostic factor analysis. RESULTS: For the 43 cases, the median age at diagnosis and disease follow-up length were 54 years and 29 months, respectively. Among them, 23 (53%) were categorized into the responsive group, and the remaining 20 (47%) were categorized into the non-responsive group. The mortality rates were 17% and 25% in the responsive and non-responsive groups, respectively. The responsive group had significantly higher absolute lymphocyte count (ALC), higher absolute neutrophil count (ANC) and low platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) than the non-responsive group. A superior long-term survival trend was also observed in the responsive group, but the difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: This study reinforced the hypothesis that high ALC, high ANC and low PLR are associated with superior disease control in patients with R/R gynecologic malignancies receiving anti PD-1 therapy.

Hematological findings in COVID-19 and their correlation with severity of Disease.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of hematological parameters to predict severity of COVID-19 patients. Method: This was a cross-sectional comparative study conducted at Central Park Teaching Hospital, Lahore in COVID ward and COVID ICU between April 23, 2021 to June 23, 2021. Patients of all ages and both genders with positive PCR admitted in the COVID ward and ICU during this time span of two months were included in the study. Data was collected retrospectively. Results: This study included 50 patients with male to female ratio of 1.38:1. Though males are more affected by COVID-19 but the difference is not statistically significant. The mean age of the study population was 56.21 and the patients in the severe disease group have higher age. It was observed that in severe/critical group the mean values of total leukocyte count 21.76×103 µI (p-value= 0.002), absolute neutrophil count 71.37% (p-value=0.045), neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) 12.80 (p-value=0.00) and PT 11.9 seconds (p-value=0.034) and the difference was statistically significant. While in severe/critical group, the mean values of hemoglobin 12.03g/dl (p-value=0.075), lymphocyte count 28.41% (p-value=0.8), platelet count 226×103 µI (p-value=0.67) and APTT 30.7 (p-value=0.081) and the difference was not significantly different between groups. Conclusion: It can be concluded from the study that total leucocyte count, absolute neutrophil count and neutrophil lymphocyte ratio can predict in-hospital mortality and morbidity in COVID-19 patients.

Dental Extraction in a Patient Living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus with Neutropenia and Thrombocytopenia.

A 34-year-old male patient living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) presents to the dental clinic with a 1-week history of throbbing tooth pain. He was referred by an oral medicine specialist for evaluation and treatment. The patient presents with very low absolute neutrophil, platelet, and cluster of differentiation (CD) (also T-helper cell) 4+ cell counts, as well as a high HIV RNA/viral load. Determining factors for dental management before extraction of the offending teeth were the absolute neutrophil count and platelet counts.

Evaluation of a safe neutrophil count for cessation of intravenous antibiotics and early hospital discharge in stable, afebrile patients recovering after acute myeloid leukemia therapy or an autograft.

Currently there are no guidelines on a safe neutrophil count(ANC) for intravenous antibiotic(IVAB) cessation and hospital discharge in patients recovering after febrile neutropenia(FN). We assessed the safety in selected patients after recent FN of prompt IVAB cessation and hospital discharge. Safety was defined as no fever recurrence after IVAB cessation and readmission in the 10-days post-discharge for infections.A retrospective, single center audit conducted on 92 adult hematology patients admitted with de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML) for intensive chemotherapy or for an autograft. Most admissions (n = 128/141;91%) were complicated by FN. Half of FN episodes ceased IVAB promptly with a median(range) ANC of 0.6(0.1-4.9x109/L); none of these episodes had recurrent fever requiring IVAB resumption. Prompt discharge occurred in 45% overall. Subsequent unplanned readmission rates were low.In afebrile, stable AML and autograft patients without medico-social barriers to discharge, IVAB can be ceased and hospital discharges safely done ≤24h of ANC ≥ 0.2x109/L.

Synovial Fluid Absolute Neutrophil Count and Neutrophil-To-Lymphocyte Ratio are not Superior to Polymorphonuclear Percentage in Detecting Periprosthetic Joint Infection.

BACKGROUND: Serum and synovial biomarkers are currently used to diagnose periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). Serum neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has shown promise as an inexpensive test in diagnosing infection, but there are no reports of synovial NLR or absolute neutrophil count (ANC) for diagnosing chronic PJI. The purpose of this study was to investigate the diagnostic potential of both markers. METHODS: A retrospective review of 730 patients who underwent total joint arthroplasty and subsequent aspiration was conducted. Synovial white blood cell (WBC) count, synovial polymorphonuclear percentage (PMN%), synovial NLR, synovial ANC, serum erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), serum C-reactive protein (CRP), serum WBC, serum PMN%, serum NLR, and serum ANC had their utility in diagnosing PJI examined by area-under-the-curve analyses (AUC). Pairwise comparisons of AUCs were performed. RESULTS: The AUCs for synovial WBC, PMN%, NLR, and ANC were 0.84, 0.84, 0.83, and 0.85, respectively. Synovial fluid ANC was a superior marker to synovial NLR (P = .027) and synovial WBC (P = .003) but not PMN% (P = .365). Synovial NLR was inferior to PMN% (P = .006) but not different from synovial WBC (P > .05). The AUCs for serum ESR, CRP, WBC, PMN%, NLR, and ANC were 0.70, 0.79, 0.63, 0.72, 0.74, and 0.67, respectively. Serum CRP outperformed all other serum markers (P < .05) except for PMN% and NLR (P > .05). Serum PMN% and NLR were similar to serum ESR (P > .05). CONCLUSION: Synovial ANC had similar performance to PMN% in diagnosing chronic PJI, whereas synovial NLR was a worse diagnostic marker. The lack of superiority to synovial PMN% limits the utility of these tests compared to established criteria.

Deep-learning-based personalized prediction of absolute neutrophil count recovery and comparison with clinicians for validation.

Neutropenia and its complications are major adverse effects of cytotoxic chemotherapy. The time to recovery from neutropenia varies from patient to patient, and cannot be easily predicted even by experts. Therefore, we trained a deep learning model using data from 525 pediatric patients with solid tumors to predict the day when patients recover from severe neutropenia after high-dose chemotherapy. We validated the model with data from 99 patients and compared its performance to those of clinicians. The accuracy of the model at predicting the recovery day, with a 1-day error, was 76%; its performance was better than those of the specialist group (58.59%) and the resident group (32.33%). In addition, 80% of clinicians changed their initial predictions at least once after the model's prediction was conveyed to them. In total, 86 prediction changes (90.53%) improved the recovery day estimate.

Biomarkers and their association with bacterial illnesses in hypothermic infants.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the association of biomarkers with serious bacterial infection (SBI; urinary tract infection [UTI], bacteremia and/or bacterial meningitis) in hypothermic infants presenting to the emergency department (ED). METHODS: We performed a cross sectional study in four academic pediatric EDs from January 2015 through December 2019, including infants ≤90 days old presenting with a rectal temperature of ≤36.4 °C. We constructed receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves to evaluate the accuracy of blood biomarkers including white blood cell count (WBC), absolute neutrophil count (ANC) and platelets for identifying SBI, with exploratory analyses evaluating procalcitonin and band counts. RESULTS: Among 850 included infants (53.5% males; median days of age 13 [IQR 5-58 days]), SBI were found in 55 (6.5%). For infants with SBI, the area under the curve (AUC; 95% confidence interval) for WBC was 0.70 (0.61-0.78) with sensitivity 0.64 (0.50-0.74) and specificity 0.77 (0.74-0.80). The AUC for ANC was 0.77 (0.70-0.84) with sensitivity 0.69 (0.55-0.81) and specificity 0.77 (0.74-0.8). For platelets, the AUC was 0.6 (0.52-0.67) with sensitivity 0.73 (0.59-0.84) and specificity 0.5 (0.46-0.53). Both the WBC and ANC were minimally accurate for identifying hypothermic infants with SBI. When looking at the accuracy of these biomarkers for identifying invasive bacterial infection (IBI; bacteremia and/or bacterial meningitis), ANC again showed minimal accuracy with an AUC of 0.70 (0.55-0.85). CONCLUSIONS: Biomarkers commonly used as part of an infectious workup are generally poor at identifying SBI in hypothermic infants. Our findings from this cohort of hypothermic infants are similar to those reported from febrile infants, suggesting similarities in the bioresponse to infection between hypothermic and febrile infants. Additional research is required to improve risk stratification for hypothermic infants, and to better guide evaluation and management.

Hematologic Outcomes of COVID-19 Patients with and without G6PD Deficiency: A Comparative Study.

INTRODUCTION: Patients with multiple comorbidities who have coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have high morbidity and mortality. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency has been shown to have an enhanced effect on coronavirus in an earlier study. METHODS: We conducted this comparative observational study to evaluate the effects of COVID-19 disease on G6PD deficiency based on the hematologic parameters, COVID-19-related hospitalizations, and mortality in the state of Qatar between January 2020 and May 2020 at four designated COVID-19 facilities. We identified 41 patients with G6PD deficiency who had documented COVID-19 infection. We compared the results with 241 patients with COVID-19 infection who tested negative for G6PD deficiency.: Results: Comparing the COVID-19 positive G6PD deficient with COVID-19 positive G6PD normal activity showed that G6PD normal group had higher white blood cell count (WBC), absolute neutrophil count (ANC), lymphocytes, eosinophils, and monocytes counts versus the G6PD deficient group (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: When compared with COVID-19 patients with normal G6PD, patients with COVID-19 infection and G6PD deficiency had lower total WBC, ANC, lymphocyte, monocyte, and eosinophil counts. However, no evidence of increased hemolysis, thrombosis, morbidity, or mortality was observed in COVID-19 patients with G6PD deficiency.

Neutrophil To Lymphocyte Ratio As A Predictor Of Severity In Colorectal Adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancers are slowly developing cancers of which more than 95% are adenocarcinomas, beginning in the mucus-producing glands lining the colon and rectum. In Pakistan, colorectal carcinoma is ranked as the seventh most common malignancy in men and the ninth most common in women with a male to female ratio of 9 to 1. This study aimed at investigating Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) as a potential marker for predicting severity of disease in terms of tumour histological grade in patients with pre-operative colorectal adenocarcinoma. METHODS: Retrospective cross-sectional study design was adopted and this study was conducted at the Department of Pathology, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Islamabad. Sixty patients of all age-groups and both genders, diagnosed as colorectal adenocarcinoma on histopathological examination of resected specimens, were selected by consecutive non-probability sampling. Separately, 60 healthy subjects, age and sex-matched, were selected as control. RESULTS: Results revealed that the most common age group was 41-60 years showing 29 cases (48%) followed by the age group 61-80 years with 17 cases (28%). The most common site was the rectum having 24 cases (40%) followed by the right hemicolon with 13 cases (21.7%). The mean of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio rose in direct proportion to the grade of colorectal carcinoma, showing a mean value of 4.5 in well differentiated low grade carcinoma, 5.0 in moderately differentiated and 6.0 in high grade poorly differentiated carcinoma. All patients had higher total leukocyte count, higher absolute neutrophil count, higher total neutrophil percentage and higher NLR as compared to their normal healthy counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that the NLR is directly proportional to tumour grade so it can be used preoperatively to assess whether the tumour is advanced so that it can be dealt with accordingly. This ratio can also be used as an independent screening marker for colorectal carcinoma since it shows very low levels in normal colonic epithelium.

Insulin resistance in school-aged girls with overweight and obesity is strongly associated with elevated white blood cell count and absolute neutrophil count.

Background: The primary objective of the study was to discuss the sex differences in insulin resistance-induced changes in metabolic and inflammatory markers in school-aged children with overweight and obesity. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 800 children aged seven and twelve years was performed. Questionnaires, anthropometric data and fasting blood samples were collected. Results: Children with overweight and obesity showed statistically significant differences in multiple metabolic and inflammatory markers compared with children with normal BMI. The correlation coefficient (r) between white blood cell count, absolute neutrophil count, fasting plasma insulin, HOMA-IR, HOMA-ß, triglyceride, HDL-C, triglyceride/HDL ratio, alanine transaminase, serum uric acid, systolic blood pressure and BMI were higher in all children, but the linear relationships between white blood cell count, absolute neutrophil count and BMI were stronger in girls with overweight and obesity than in boys with overweight and obesity. Subsequently, HOMA-IR was shown to be more strongly associated with increased white blood cell count and absolute neutrophil count in school-aged girls with overweight and obesity by partial correlation analysis and the multiple linear regression analysis. Conclusions: Elevated white blood cell count and absolute neutrophil count in children with overweight and obesity, especially girls, can serve as markers of insulin resistance.