The Peripheral Blood Inflammatory Patterns in the Control Levels of Asthma in Children

Abstract

To evaluate the role of white blood cell count, platelet count (PLT), mean platelet volume (MPV), and eosinophil percentage as objective markers of asthma control in pediatric patients.The study included 348 patients between the ages of 4 and 18 years diagnosed with asthma from January 2011 through September 2015 at the University of Health Sciences in Ankara, Turkey. Within the cohort, 63.2% were male, and 43.1% had controlled asthma.This was a retrospective and cross-sectional study in which subjects with asthma were separated into 2 groups: controlled and uncontrolled asthma (by using the Asthma Control Test). Subjects were further subdivided into groups on the basis of medication use (regular versus irregular) and atopic status (atopic versus nonatopic). The white blood cell count, PLT, MPV, eosinophil percentage, forced expiratory volume in 1 second (%), FVC (%), and forced expiratory volume in 1 second to FVC (%) were extracted from each subject’s medical record. Laboratory data were compared between patients in the controlled and uncontrolled asthma groups. The effect of medication use and atopic status on laboratory data were further analyzed.The eosinophil percentage was significantly higher in the uncontrolled asthma group (4.992 ± 3.43), compared with that of the controlled asthma group (3.493 ± 2.24) independent of atopic status. There were no significant differences in the PLT, MPV, or eosinophil percentages between asthmatics with and without atopy. The eosinophil percentage was significantly higher among asthmatics with regular medication use (4.788 ± 3.007) versus that of those with irregular medication use (3.986 ± 3.077).Eosinophil percentage may be an effective marker to monitor asthma control in the pediatric population.Monitoring asthma control can be difficult in pediatric patients who are too young or unable to perform pulmonary function tests. With this study, the authors suggest a role for biomarkers, such as eosinophil percentage, in the monitoring of pediatric asthma. Eosinophil percentage could be used in the follow-up and treatment of asthma in pediatric patients who are unable to perform other objective tests. Randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm that eosinophil percentage is a reliable parameter.