Peripheral blood lymphocyte apoptosis: a clue to the diagnosis of acute infectious mononucleosis.

Objective: To describe the morphology and significance of apoptotic lymphocytes in peripheral blood smears of patients with acute infectious mononucleosis. To our knowledge this has not been previously reported.

Design: Peripheral blood smears from 27 patients with a positive heterophile antibody test were collected and reviewed for the presence of apoptotic lymphocytes. Flow cytometry was performed on three cases to document the previously described low expression of bcl-2 in lymphocytes in infectious mononucleosis. Four control patient populations comprising 80 cases were similarly screened for the presence of apoptotic lymphocytes.

Setting: The specimens were collected over a 3-month period in two laboratories at our tertiary care hospital; all specimens were processed according to a standard protocol.

Patients: Young adult military recruits and their spouses, military dependent adolescents, and retired military personnel.

Results: Twenty-four (88.9%) of 27 peripheral blood smears of patients with acute infectious mononucleosis contained readily identifiable apoptotic lymphocytes. Three (3.75%) of 80 control peripheral blood smears were identified with rare apoptotic lymphocytes, all occurring in patients with viral upper respiratory infections.

Conclusions: The finding of apoptotic lymphocytes in a peripheral blood smear is useful in the differential diagnosis of infectious mononucleosis and neoplastic hematolymphoid processes.