ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical value of lymphocyte subsets, immunoglobulins, and complement C3 and C4 in the evaluation of immune status in children with hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD). METHODS: A total of 282 children with HFMD were enrolled as the HFMD group, and 130 healthy children were enrolled as the healthy control group. The percentages of peripheral CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T lymphocytes, CD19+ B lymphocytes, and CD56+ natural killer cells were measured. The CD4+/CD8+ ratio was calculated. The levels of immunoglobulin A (IgA), immunoglobulin M (IgM), immunoglobulin G (IgG), and complement C3 and C4 were measured. RESULTS: The multivariate analysis showed that compared with the healthy control group, the HFMD group had significantly lower percentages of CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T lymphocytes and levels of complement C3 and C4 (P<0.05), as well as significantly higher percentage of CD56+ natural killer cells and level of IgG (P<0.05). The individual effect analysis showed that the children aged 0-3 years in the HFMD group had a significantly higher CD4+/CD8+ ratio than the healthy control group (P<0.05); boys aged 0-3 and ≥3 years in the HFMD group had a significantly higher level of IgM than the healthy control group (P<0.05); boys aged ≥3 years and girls aged 0-3 years in the HFMD group had a significantly lower level of IgA than the healthy control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Cellular and humoral immunity disorders are observed in children with HFMD. The monitoring of lymphocyte subsets and immunoglobulin levels can provide a laboratory basis for immune status assessment in children with HFMD.
