Dados do Trabalho

Título

Relative lymphocyte count is lower when the etiological agent in Pott`s disease is successfully isolated

Objetivo

The aim of this study is to describe the clinical/epidemiological, laboratory, and radiological characteristics of tuberculous spondylodiscitis in the Brazilian population, and to assess whether there are differences between patients with and without isolation of the etiological agent in Pott’s disease.

Metodologia

Patients diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) of the spine (Pott’s disease) underwent follow-up between 2009 and 2019 at a quaternary hospital. The patients were divided into two groups: successful isolation (SI) of the etiological agent (bacilloscopy, culture, or positive molecular rapid test) and unsuccessful isolation (UI) of the etiological agent.

Resultados

From a total of 26 patients diagnosed with tuberculosis in the spine, 21 were male (80.7%) with a mean age of 40 ± 22.5 years. The average lymphocyte counts were higher in the UI group (25.35±13.08, p = 0.025) compared to the SI group (14.18±7.48). Moreover, the monocyte/lymphocyte ratio was lower in the UI group (0.39±0.22, p = 0.009) in relation to the SI group (0.89±0.65). Relative lymphocyte counts higher than or equal to 16.7, had a sensitivity of 76.9% and specificity of 62.5% for the UI group. Values higher than or equal to 0.58 for the monocyte/lymphocyte ratio showed a sensitivity of 84.6% and specificity of 75.0% for the UI group.

Conclusões

No differences were observed in relation to the clinical-epidemiological and radiological characteristics between the two experimental groups. However, the UI group had higher lymphocyte counts and a lower monocyte/lymphocyte ratio.