Donkada Pranav, Vishnu B, Murugan Senthil, Sesham Kishore, Bakshi Satvinder S, Kalidoss Vinothkumar, Francis Yuvaraj Maria, Kasirajan Sankaran Ponnusamy
MBBS (Final Year) Student, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Department of Anatomy, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh, India.
J Family Med Prim Care. 2025 Jul;14(7):2861-2866. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_185_25. Epub 2025 Jul 21.
Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19), caused by Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), primarily affects nasal cavities by binding its spike proteins to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors. This study aimed to assess inflammatory and epithelial cell counts and determine their ratios in exfoliated nasal mucosal cells of COVID-19 suspected patients.
This cross-sectional study was conducted at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Mangalagiri, from August to October 2022, involving 75 COVID-19 suspected patients. Nasal smears were collected, stained with Papanicolaou test (PAP), and analyzed for inflammatory and epithelial cell counts. Participants were grouped as COVID-19 positive and negative based on Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) results. Genotoxicity factors were evaluated using mean and standard deviation values.
In COVID-19 positive individuals, mean cell counts for neutrophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes, mast cells, macrophages, and epithelial cells were 42.08, 6.68, 4.48, 0.84, 0.12, and 45.80, respectively. In COVID-19 negative patients, the corresponding values were 38.08, 13.76, 11.12, 2.66, 0.22, and 34.16. The inflammatory ratios for neutrophils to eosinophils and neutrophils to lymphocytes in COVID-19 positive individuals were 7.30 and 14.06, respectively. SARS-CoV-2 infection resulted in elevated neutrophil and epithelial cell counts and decreased eosinophil, lymphocyte, mast cell, and macrophage count.
SARS-CoV-2 exhibits unique immunological alterations in nasal mucosa. The inflammatory ratios of neutrophils-to-eosinophils and neutrophils-to-lymphocytes may serve as reliable diagnostic markers for COVID-19.
2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）由严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）引起，其刺突蛋白与血管紧张素转换酶2（ACE2）受体结合，主要影响鼻腔。本研究旨在评估COVID-19疑似患者脱落鼻黏膜细胞中的炎症细胞和上皮细胞计数，并确定它们的比例。
本横断面研究于2022年8月至10月在芒格莱吉的全印度医学科学研究所（AIIMS）进行，纳入75例COVID-19疑似患者。采集鼻涂片，用巴氏染色法（PAP）染色，并分析炎症细胞和上皮细胞计数。根据实时聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）结果将参与者分为COVID-19阳性和阴性两组。使用均值和标准差评估遗传毒性因素。
COVID-19阳性个体中，中性粒细胞、嗜酸性粒细胞、淋巴细胞、肥大细胞、巨噬细胞和上皮细胞的平均细胞计数分别为42.08、6.68、4.48、0.84、0.12和45.80。COVID-19阴性患者的相应值分别为38.08、13.76、11.12、2.66、0.22和34.16。COVID-19阳性个体中中性粒细胞与嗜酸性粒细胞以及中性粒细胞与淋巴细胞的炎症比例分别为7.30和14.06。SARS-CoV-2感染导致中性粒细胞和上皮细胞计数升高，嗜酸性粒细胞、淋巴细胞、肥大细胞和巨噬细胞计数降低。
SARS-CoV-2在鼻黏膜中表现出独特的免疫改变。中性粒细胞与嗜酸性粒细胞以及中性粒细胞与淋巴细胞的炎症比例可能是COVID-19可靠的诊断标志物。
