The study of T lymphocyte in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome(SARS)

Objective:To study the evalution of T lymphocyte in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) patients.Methods:T lymphocyte in the peripheral blood was determined by Flow Cytometry in 53 patients with SARS. Results:The CD4 +T cell and CD8 +T cell decreased reversiblly in the cured SARS patients, but decreased progressively in the dead cases. The level and duration of the decrease are correlated with the patient's condition. The lowest CD4 +T cell count is 305±150 cells/μl(P0.001) ,139±69 cells/μl(P0.001) in the mild cases and severe cases during the course of disease, respectively. The lowest CD8 + cell count is 223±89 cells/μl (P0.001),171±92 cells/μl (P0.001)in the mild cases and severe cases. T cell counts were normalized in the mild cases and the major severe cases. But the time for T lymphocyte back to normal was significantly shorted and the counts was significantly higher in the mild cases(17±5 days,991±286 cells/μl, respectively) than in the severe cases(27±6 days,545±225 cells/μl, respectively).