Beyond eosinophilia: inflammatory patterns in patients with asthma

• Published in: The Journal of asthma Vol. 59; no. 2; pp. 255 - 263
• Main Authors: Bedolla-Barajas, Martín, Morales-Romero, Jaime, Hernández-Colín, Dante Daniel, Larenas-Linnemann, Désireé, Mariscal-Castro, Juan, Flores-Razo, Miriam Montzerrat, Bedolla-Pulido, Angie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 01-02-2022
• Subjects: Adult; asthma; Asthma - blood; Asthma - pathology; basophils; Blood Platelets - cytology; Case-Control Studies; Cross-Sectional Studies; Eosinophilia - epidemiology; Eosinophils; Eosinophils - cytology; Humans; inflammation; Leukocyte Count; Lymphocytes; monocytes; Neutrophils; Retrospective Studies; monocytes; asthma; basophils; inflammation; Eosinophils
• ISSN: 0277-0903; 1532-4303
• DOI: 10.1080/02770903.2020.1852413

Background: Recently, inflammatory cell ratios have gained importance as useful indicators in the categorization of asthma.
Objective: We compared the concentration of white blood cells in peripheral blood, as well as their respective inflammatory cell ratios, between patients with asthma and a healthy control group.
Methods: We performed cross-sectional analyses of the data obtained from 53 adult patients with asthma and 109 adult controls. In our study, we estimated and compared the following inflammatory cell ratios: Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR), Eosinophil-Lymphocyte Ratio (ELR), Eosinophil-Neutrophil Ratio (ENR), Eosinophil-Monocyte Ratio (EMR), and Platelet-Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR). The magnitude of association was quantified with the odds ratio.
Results: In both groups, the average age was 33 years. In asthmatic patients, we obtained the following results: eosinophils ≥ 400 cells/µl, accounted for 37.7%; basophils ≥ 110 cells/µl, comprised 37.7%; and monocytes < 320 cells/µl, reached 11.3%. In the control group, the results were as follows: 4.6%, 9.2% and 0.9%, respectively. When compared to the control group, asthmatic patients had higher odds of eosinophils ≥ 400 cells/µl (OR = 12.61, p < 0.0001); higher odds of basophils ≥ 110 cells/µl (OR = 6.00, p < 0.0001); and increased odds of monocytes < 320 cells/µl (OR = 13.79, p = 0.017). NLR did not differ between our two groups; however, ELR, ENR, EMR and PLR were significantly higher in the asthma group.
Conclusions: Overall, patients with asthma have a higher concentration of eosinophils and basophils, fewer monocytes in their blood, and higher ratios of increased chronic inflammation.