Analysis of the value of novel inflammatory indicators derived from complete blood count in predicting for pertussis in children.

OBJECTIVE

Inflammatory indicators derived from complete blood count (CBC) have been shown to exhibit substantial clinical utility across a broad spectrum of infectious and inflammatory conditions, this study aimed to explore the potential value of CBC-derived inflammatory indicators in predicting for pertussis in children.

METHODS

CBC parameters of all the participants included in this study were collected. The CBC-derived inflammatory indicators evaluated included the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), [neutrophil + monocyte]-to-lymphocyte ratio (NMLR), systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), and systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI). The predictive value of CBC-derived inflammatory indicators was assessed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 892 pertussis children, 903 children with non-pertussis respiratory tract infection and 1,165 healthy children were included in this study. Compared to healthy children, the PLR in children with pertussis was significantly reduced (p < 0.001), whereas the levels of the other indicators were significantly increased. Simultaneously, the indicators in children with pertussis were significantly lower than those in children with non-pertussis infection. In the comparative analysis of inflammatory indicators across different age subgroups, all indicators in the pertussis group were significantly elevated in children < 2 years old, compared to those in both the non-pertussis group and the healthy group; conversely, in children > 2 years old, these indicators were significantly lower than those observed in the non-pertussis group. The ROC analysis results indicated that, aside from PLR, the CBC-derived inflammatory indicators demonstrated significant value in predicting for pertussis infection in children < 2 years old. Furthermore, the integration of multiple markers could enhance diagnostic performance.

CONCLUSION

CBC-derived inflammatory indicators, particularly NLR and NMLR, may serve as valuable tools for early predicting for pertussis in children under 2 years old in clinical practice.