AN ANALYSIS OF THE NORMAL RANGES OF LYMPHOCYTE SUBPOPULATIONS IN CHILDREN AGED 5-13 YEARS

Peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets were examined in 233 healthy schoo l children aged 4.9-13.7 years at the time of examination. Lymphocyte subsets were characterized according to the following cluster of diffe rentiation (CD) numbers: CD2, CD4, CD8 and CD19 and quantified accordi ng to both their absolute number and as a percentage of total lymphocy tes. For the purpose of analysis, the LMS (lambda, mu; sigma) method w as utilized, with a 3%-97% confidence interval. Smoothing of the gener ated curves, was by multiple regression analysis, using the least squa res method. The results of these analyses indicate distinct trends as a child ages, both in absolute numbers and in the precentage of each c ell type. Conclusion We characterized lymphocyte subsets in children a ged 4.9-13.7 years. These data should prove of considerable value to p ediatricians dealing with patients with known or suspected immunologic al problems, and ought to be used in place of the commonly used, but i nappropriate, adult lymphocyte subset ranges.