Beyond eosinophilia: inflammatory patterns in patients with asthma.

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Respiratory Medicine
• Hematology

Background:

• Inflammatory cell ratios are increasingly recognized as key indicators for asthma classification.
• Peripheral blood white blood cell counts and ratios offer insights into asthma pathophysiology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare white blood cell concentrations and inflammatory cell ratios between asthma patients and healthy controls.
• To investigate the diagnostic value of various inflammatory cell ratios in asthma.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional analysis of 53 adult asthma patients and 109 adult controls.
• Calculation and comparison of Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR), Eosinophil-Lymphocyte Ratio (ELR), Eosinophil-Neutrophil Ratio (ENR), Eosinophil-Monocyte Ratio (EMR), and Platelet-Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR).
• Odds ratios were used to quantify the association between cell counts/ratios and asthma.

Main Results:

• Asthma patients exhibited significantly higher odds of elevated eosinophils (≥ 400 cells/µl) and basophils (≥ 110 cells/µl), and lower monocytes (< 320 cells/µl) compared to controls.
• While NLR did not differ between groups, ELR, ENR, EMR, and PLR were significantly higher in asthma patients.
• Specific thresholds for eosinophils, basophils, and monocytes showed significant differences between asthmatic and control groups.

Conclusions:

• Patients with asthma demonstrate distinct peripheral blood inflammatory profiles, including higher eosinophil and basophil levels and lower monocyte counts.
• Elevated inflammatory cell ratios, particularly ELR, ENR, EMR, and PLR, are associated with asthma and suggest increased chronic inflammation.
• These findings support the utility of inflammatory cell ratios as potential biomarkers for asthma assessment.