Sickle cell anaemia and the NBT test

Area of Science:

• Hematology
• Immunology
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• Patients with sickle cell anaemia exhibit increased susceptibility to bacterial infections.
• Previous studies suggested potential polymorphonuclear dysfunction in sickle cell anaemia patients.
• This dysfunction was indicated by false-negative nitro blue tetrazolium (NBT) tests and faulty phagocytic responses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the utility of an unstimulated, histochemical NBT technique in patients with sickle cell anaemia.
• To assess polymorphonuclear cell response in sickle cell anaemia patients with and without bacterial infection.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an unstimulated, histochemical nitro blue tetrazolium (NBT) test.
• Compared NBT test results between sickle cell anaemia patients with and without bacterial infection.
• Analyzed correlations between white blood cell count, polymorphonuclear cells, and infectious complications.

Main Results:

• A significant difference in mean NBT-positive cells was observed between infected (42.7%) and non-infected (9.4%) sickle cell anaemia patients.
• No significant correlation was found between total white blood cell count, absolute polymorphonuclear cell number, and infectious complications.
• The NBT test demonstrated an appropriate polymorphonuclear cell response in infected sickle cell anaemia patients.

Conclusions:

• The nitro blue tetrazolium (NBT) test is a valid indicator of polymorphonuclear cell response in sickle cell anaemia patients during bacterial infections.
• The NBT test can serve as an additional parameter for differentiating sickle cell anaemia patients with bacterial infections.