Rong Huang,1,* Rui Zheng,2,* Shui Fu,1 Zuo Jie Li3 

1Clinical Laboratory Department, First People’s Hospital of Linping District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Central Laboratory, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Taizhou, People’s Republic of China; 3Clinical Laboratory Department, The People’s Hospital of Cangnan Zhejiang, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Zuo Jie Li, Clinical Laboratory Department, The People’s Hospital of Cangnan Zhejiang, No. 2288 Yucang Road, Cangnan County, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, 325800, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 577-64810162, Email 15088908102@163.com

Objective: Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory disease, and early diagnosis and timely treatment are crucial for reducing complications and transmission. In this study, we analyzed the prevalence of pertussis and assessed the value of the WBC and lymphocyte percentage in its screening.
Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on global pertussis data from the past decade. Patients who recently underwent pertussis nucleic acid detection and complete blood count (CBC) in our hospital were selected. Based on the results, 538 patients were classified into the pertussis group, and 595 into the control group. White blood count (WBC) and lymphocyte percentages were compared, diagnostic efficacy was calculated, and evaluate their application value in the diagnosis of pertussis.
Results: In the past decade, the global incidence of pertussis first decreased, then increased. In China and Zhejiang province, it fluctuated but showed an upward trend recently. In Zhejiang Province, pertussis was more prevalent in summer and winter and rose last year. Between 2018 and 2020, most pertussis cases in China were infants under 1 year old. Last year, only 1.12% of patients in our hospital were infants, with more patients over 5 years old. WBC, lymphocyte percentage, and platelet count (PLT) was higher in the pertussis group (P < 0.05). Logistic regression showed that WBC, lymphocyte percentage, and PLT were correlated with pertussis infection. Sequential analysis showed that the WBC, lymphocyte percentage, and Youden’s index for both combined were 0.124, 0.082, and 0.044, respectively.
Conclusion: The global incidence of pertussis is rising, with significant increases among adolescents and adults. Improved prevention and control strategies are needed. WBC and lymphocyte percentage serve as auxiliary diagnostic indicators, but their efficacy is limited.

Keywords: pertussis, epidemiology, WBC, lymphocyte percentage, diagnostic competence