Clinical value of cleaved lymphocytes in assisting the diagnosis of pertussis in children

OBJECTIVE To study the value of cleaved lymphocytes in peripheral blood smear in assisting the early diagnosis of pertussis. METHODS Nasopharyngeal swabs and peripheral blood samples were collected from 107 children with pertussis-like disease. PCR-flow fluorescent hybridization was used to detect the nucleic acids of Bordetella pertussis. Based on the detection results, the children were divided into two groups: pertussis (n=52) and non-pertussis (n=55). According to age, the pertussis group was divided into two subgroups: 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The detection of cleaved lymphocytes combined with peripheral blood cell counts provides a new option for the early diagnosis of pertussis in children.