OBJECTIVE: To find a quickly available screening tool for the differentiation of patients with glandular fever from those with acute purulent tonsillitis. The null hypothesis was that there was no difference between the lymphocyte-white blood cell count (L/WCC) ratio between the 2 patient groups. DESIGN: Retrospective pilot study based on laboratory tests for lymphocyte counts, white blood cell counts, and the mononucleosis spot test. SETTING: Ear, Nose, and Throat Department, St George's Hospital, London, England. PATIENTS: One hundred twenty patients with glandular fever and 100 patients with bacterial tonsillitis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Results from the mononucleosis spot test in conjunction with the clinical picture and the L/WCC ratio were analyzed. Significant differences were evaluated using the Mann-Whitney test and Fisher exact test. RESULTS: The L/WCC ratio was significantly different in the 2 groups (P<.001). The mean L/WCC ratio in the glandular fever group was 0.54 and the mean L/WCC ratio in the bacterial tonsillitis group was 0.10. A ratio higher than 0.35 had a specificity of 100% and a sensitivity of 90% for the detection of glandular fever. CONCLUSIONS: We recommend that the L/WCC ratio should be used as an indicator to decide whether mononucleosis spot tests should be requested. A ratio higher than 0.35 had a high specificity in our study group.
OBJECTIVE: To find a quickly available screening tool for the differentiation of patients with glandular fever from those with acute purulent tonsillitis. The null hypothesis was that there was no difference between the lymphocyte-white blood cell count (L/WCC) ratio between the 2 patient groups. DESIGN: Retrospective pilot study based on laboratory tests for lymphocyte counts, white blood cell counts, and the mononucleosis spot test. SETTING: Ear, Nose, and Throat Department, St George's Hospital, London, England. PATIENTS: One hundred twenty patients with glandular fever and 100 patients with bacterial tonsillitis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Results from the mononucleosis spot test in conjunction with the clinical picture and the L/WCC ratio were analyzed. Significant differences were evaluated using the Mann-Whitney test and Fisher exact test. RESULTS: The L/WCC ratio was significantly different in the 2 groups (P<.001). The mean L/WCC ratio in the glandular fever group was 0.54 and the mean L/WCC ratio in the bacterial tonsillitis group was 0.10. A ratio higher than 0.35 had a specificity of 100% and a sensitivity of 90% for the detection of glandular fever. CONCLUSIONS: We recommend that the L/WCC ratio should be used as an indicator to decide whether mononucleosis spot tests should be requested. A ratio higher than 0.35 had a high specificity in our study group.
Authors: Gabriel Bronz; Benedetto P E S M Zanetti; Mario G Bianchetti; Gregorio P Milani; Sebastiano A G Lava; Thomas J Neuhaus; Anne Witschi; Lisa Kottanattu Journal: Infection Date: 2022-10-12 Impact factor: 7.455
Authors: Jonathan D Mosley; QiPing Feng; Quinn S Wells; Sara L Van Driest; Christian M Shaffer; Todd L Edwards; Lisa Bastarache; Wei-Qi Wei; Lea K Davis; Catherine A McCarty; Will Thompson; Christopher G Chute; Gail P Jarvik; Adam S Gordon; Melody R Palmer; David R Crosslin; Eric B Larson; David S Carrell; Iftikhar J Kullo; Jennifer A Pacheco; Peggy L Peissig; Murray H Brilliant; James G Linneman; Bahram Namjou; Marc S Williams; Marylyn D Ritchie; Kenneth M Borthwick; Shefali S Verma; Jason H Karnes; Scott T Weiss; Thomas J Wang; C Michael Stein; Josh C Denny; Dan M Roden Journal: Nat Commun Date: 2018-08-30 Impact factor: 14.919