Immunological and haematological profiles of pulmonary tuberculosis patients in the Ahafo Region

Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) triggers various disruptions in the body's immune system, leading to changes in blood parameters. This study aimed to identify differences in the levels of inflammation-related cytokines (IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-10) and blood parameters among PTB cases and healthy controls in the Ahafo region of Ghana. This was a single-centre case-control cross-sectional study with convenience sampling among 200 individuals. We evaluated the levels of cytokines and blood parameters in 100 PTB cases and 100 uninfected controls using the sandwich ELISA and the XN-550 haematology analyser, respectively. The study revealed significantly higher levels of all three cytokines in PTB patients compared to the control group. The mean level of IL-10 in PTB cases was notably higher at 258.29 ± 101.97 ρg/mL, compared to non-infected controls at 182.741 ± 44.94 ρg/mL. Similarly, the mean levels of IFN-γ (360.73 ± 181.86 ρg/mL) and TNF-α (2931.42 ± 1359.28 ρg/mL) in PTB cases were significantly elevated compared to healthy controls (IFN-γ: 95.444 ± 51.43 ρg/mL, TNF-α: 1570.57 ± 511.87 ρg/mL), with p-values below 0.001. PTB patients (69%) experienced reduced HgB levels more frequently than the control group (77%) with a p-value of 0.05. However, a higher proportion of PTB cases (44%) exhibited elevated WBC counts compared to healthy controls (28%), with a p-value of 0.004. The results demonstrated significantly elevated levels of both pro-inflammatory (IFN-γ, TNF-α) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10) cytokines, as well as blood parameters (WBC, RBC, and HgB), in response to Mtb infection in PTB patients compared to controls.