Hematological Parameters in Patients with Pulmonary Tuberculosis and its Presentation among Favorable and Unfavorable Treatment Outcomes

Indian J Public Health. 2024 Jul 1;68(3):362-365. doi: 10.4103/ijph.ijph_918_23. Epub 2024 Sep 24.

Abstract

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) management continues to be a challenge globally; weakened immunity plays a significant role in the reactivation of TB. There is limited information on hematological parameters in patients with pulmonary TB and its association with outcome.

Objectives: We present hematological parameters of newly diagnosed sputum-positive pulmonary TB patients enrolled in a randomized, clinical trial that assessed the efficacy and safety of 3 and 4 regimens using moxifloxacin.

Materials and methods: Blood hematological parameters at baseline, comparison of the baseline and end of treatment values, including the monocytes by lymphocytes ratio (M/L), neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (N/L), and platelet lymphocyte ratio (P/L) between the patients with favorable and unfavorable TB treatment outcome, and among different age group and sex presented in this paper.

Results: Among the total 1059 patients, 782 were males, the mean hemoglobin (HB) ± standard deviation (SD) was 11.5 g/dL ± 2.0, the mean white blood cell (WBC) count ± SD was 9800 ± 3009 and the mean platelet count (in lakhs) ± SD was 4.24 ± 1.42 cells/uL. There was an increase from baseline in the mean hemoglobin, eosinophil, and lymphocyte count and a decrease in mean neutrophil, monocyte counts to the end of treatment. There was a decrease in baseline mean total WBC count posttreatment, both in favorable (10,271 cells/uL ± 3007 SD to 6689 cells/uL ± 1837 SD, [P ≤ 0.001]), and unfavorable TB outcome patients.

Conclusion: An increase in HB, and a decrease in WBC count, M/L, N/L, and P/L ratio is possible at the end of TB treatment and future studies to correlate blood hematology parameters with TB treatment outcome.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Age Factors
  • Antitubercular Agents* / therapeutic use
  • Blood Cell Count
  • Female
  • Hemoglobins / analysis
  • Humans
  • Leukocyte Count
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Moxifloxacin / administration & dosage
  • Moxifloxacin / therapeutic use
  • Sex Factors
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Tuberculosis, Pulmonary* / blood
  • Tuberculosis, Pulmonary* / drug therapy
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Antitubercular Agents
  • Hemoglobins
  • Moxifloxacin