[Peripheral blood responses in elderly patients with some prevalent diseases].

The aim of the research was to study blood responses to inflammatory processes in patients of different ages. The subjects of the study were 31 healthy persons and 198 patients, 116 of whom had pneumonia and 82 had chronic pyelonephritis. The patients were divided into three age groups: 16 to 39 years, 40 to 59 years, and older than 60 years. The following parameters were calculated on the basis of peripheral blood leukocyte composition and ESR: leukocyte intoxication index (LII), lymphocyte index (LymI), leukocyte shift index (LSI), leukocyte index (LI), leukocyte to ESR ratio index (LESRRI), lymphocyte-granulocyte index (LGI), total index (TI), neutrophile to lymphocyte ratio index (NLymRI), neutrophile to monocyte ratio index (NMRI), and lymphocyte to monocyte ratio index (LMRI). The majority of the indexes (LII, LymI, LSI, LI, LESRRI, LGI, and LMRI) in acute inflammation processes and some of them (LESRRI, NLymRI, and LMRI) in chronic inflammation altered significantly in all the age groups, which demonstrated that compensatory and adaptive mechanisms remained preserved in the elderly. The were age-dependent differences in blood responses to inflammation: LymI, LI, and LGI were significantly lower in the elderly with chronic pyelonephritis, whereas in Groups 1 and 2 there were no changes; NMRI was decreased in Groups 1 and 2 in chronic pyelonephritis and did not differ from the elderly controls. In acute inflammation, there were no significant differences from the controls in NlymRI in Group 3, while this parameter in Groups 1 and 2 differ from that in the controls. Thus, hematological indices make it possible to assess the work of effectory mechanisms of the immune system, the degree of their compensation in patients belonging to different age groups.