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Separation of Immune Cell Subpopulations in Peripheral Blood Samples from Children with Infectious Mononucleosis
Published on: September 7, 2022
[CLINICAL AND IMMUNOLOGICAL CRITERIA FOR THE ADVERSE COURSE OF INFECTIOUS MONONUCLEOSIS IN CHILDREN]
Ya Kolesnik1, T Zharkova1, O Rzhevskaya1
1Kharkiv National Medical University, Department of Children's Infectious Diseases; V.N. Karasin Kharkov National University, Department of Pediatrics №2; Department of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, Ukraine.
Insights
Identifying adverse infectious mononucleosis (IM) in children requires monitoring specific clinical signs. Key indicators include generalized lymphadenopathy, purulent tonsillitis, and specific blood count changes, signaling a potentially unfavorable disease course.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Immunology
- Clinical Virology
Background:
- Infectious mononucleosis (IM), a common childhood illness, can present with varying severity and outcomes.
- Understanding criteria for adverse IM variants is crucial for timely intervention and management in pediatric patients.
- Previous studies have explored IM's clinical manifestations, but specific prognostic indicators for unfavorable courses require further elucidation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and define prognostic criteria for adverse variants of infectious mononucleosis in children.
- To compare immune status indicators between children with moderate and unfavorable IM courses.
- To establish a basis for early detection and management of severe IM cases in pediatric populations.
Main Methods:
- Observational study involving 161 children (3-15 years) diagnosed with infectious mononucleosis.
- Diagnosis confirmed by PCR for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA and ELISA for anti-EBV IgM/IgG.
- Immune status assessed via flow cytometry (CD markers) and ELISA for cytokines (IL-1β, IL-4, TNF-α) and immunoglobulins (IgA, IgM, IgG).
Main Results:
- 140 children (86.9%) had a moderate IM course, while 21 (13.1%) experienced an unfavorable course.
- Prognostically unfavorable criteria identified: generalized lymphadenopathy (5-6 groups), purulent tonsillitis, enlarged liver/spleen, anemia, thrombocytopenia, neutropenia, and absence of atypical mononuclears.
- Adverse IM courses were associated with suppressed cellular immunity and heightened humoral immune responses.
Conclusions:
- Specific clinical and hematological findings serve as reliable indicators for predicting an unfavorable course of infectious mononucleosis in children.
- Early recognition of these criteria can guide clinical decisions and potentially improve patient outcomes.
- The study highlights the importance of comprehensive immune status assessment in managing pediatric IM.
Abstract:
The article presents the results of our own studies to determine the criteria for the adverse variants of the course of infectious mononucleosis (IM) in children. The study was conducted in the regional children's infectious clinical hospital in Kharkov. 161 children aged three to fifteen years were under observation with diagnosis of infectious moninucleosis. Out of 161 ill children, 140 (86.9%) had moderate severity of disease, and 21 (13.1%) had severe forms. All children were prescribed standard clinical and laboratory-instrumental examinations. The diagnosis of IM was verified by PCR (detection of VEB DNA in the blood) and ELISA (anti-VEB Ig M and Ig G). In 140 children (86.9%) IM proceeded sharply, smoothly (the first group), in 21 (13.1%) - unfavorably (wave and / or prolonged course) - the second group. The groups were comparable according to age, the severity of the disease and other parameters. All children received therapy according to approved protocols (Order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine No. 354 of 09.07.2004). Immune status of children was assessed by determining the relative contents of CD3 +, CD4 +, CD8 +, CD16 +, CD19 + blood cells with appropriate monoclonal antibodies, serum IgA, IgM, IgG concentration by Mancini and interleukin (IL) -1β cytokine response and - 4, tumor necrosis factor (TNF α) is a solid-phase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Based on the results of observations, it was established that the prognostically unfavorable criteria of IМ at the stages of manifestation of disease include: generalized lymphadenopathy involving 5-6 groups of lymph nodes and a significant increasing of them, purulent tonsillitis, marked increasing of size of liver and spleen on the background of anemia, thrombocytopenia, neutropenia and the absence of atypical mononuclears in the complete blood count. There is a depression of the cellular link and an increase in the humoral mechanisms of immune responses in case of development of adverse course of IM.
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