Role of neutrophils in Ischaemic heart disease [cytological and cytochemical changes]

ABSTRACT

Thirty patients with recent myocardial infarction [MI] and 30 patients with ischemic heart disease [IHD] without infarction as well as 10 healthy controls were subjected to the study. Leucocytosis with neutrophilia were detected in both groups but it was more prominent in MI group that IHD group. Neutrophils in both groups showed toxic granulation [degenerative index], meanwhile the phagocytic activity of such cells were significantly increased. Neutrophil myeloperoxidase [MPO] were significantly diminished in MI group in spite of normal MPO scores in IHD group. On the other hand, the MI group showed significant elevation in the scores of neutrophils alkaline phosphatase [NAP], nitro-blue tetrazolium [NBT], nonspecific esterase [NSE] and chloro-acetate esterase [CAE] when compared with both normal control and IDH groups. So, it was suggested that the use of the total leucocytic count, neutrophil count, degenerative index [DI] and MPO, one cytochemical stain either NAP, CAE, NSE or NBT may be used as a first aid investigations [cheap and rapid] to distinguish between MI and IHD