Functional characterization of peripheral blood neutrophils in patients with primary hypothyroidism

The clinical observations of increased risk of bacterial infection in patients with severe hypothyroidism motivated investigations of the biological function of neutrophils in peripheral blood of 30 women with primary hypothyroidism. The following functions of neutrophils were examined: phagocytosis, adherence to fibers, as well as spontaneous migration of leukocytes. The total number of leukocytes and neutrophils was also determined. The results were compared with those in a control group formed by 20 healthy women. The data show that in patients with primary hypothyroidism, the adherence of neutrophils was increased (63 +/- 8% in patients and 53 +/- 11% in control subjects) and spontaneous migration decreased (45 +/- 20 cm2 in patients and 65 +/- 30 cm2 in the control group). However, there were no significant deviations of phagocytic activity of neutrophils in hypothyroid individuals as compared to euthyroid controls.