Systemic neutrophil degranulation and emergency granulopoiesis in patients with Clostridioides difficile infection.

Objectives: Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is characterized by neutrophilia in blood, with a high leukocyte count accompanying severe infection. In this study, we characterized peripheral blood neutrophil activation and maturity in CDI by (i) developing a method to phenotype stored neutrophils for disease-related developmental alterations and (ii) assessing neutrophil-associated biomarkers.

Methods: We stored fixed leukocytes from blood collected within 24 h of diagnosis from a cohort of hospitalized patients with acute CDI.