[Effects of coal tar on hematological parameters in experimental tuberculosis]

Guinea pigs were injected with coal tar (CT) (intratracheally, 25 mg per animal once a week or a month for 2 or 8 months, respectively), then they were infected with MBT (H37Rv, 0.1 mg, subcutaneously). There were changes in hematological responses to MBT changes (in the context of the cell composition of bone marrow and peripheral blood), their pattern was associated with the mode of exposure to CT preceding MBT inoculation. The greatest differences were found in the responses of bone marrow lymphopoiesis and peripheral lymphocytes upon both exposures to CT. On greater exposure to CT (once a week) the changes in the blood system indicated that CT had an adverse effect on the course of experimental tuberculosis, while on lesser exposure (once a month), the effect of CT was more favourable.