ABSTRACT Background and Aim Hidradenitis suppurativa is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by painful, recurrent lesions most commonly affecting the axillary, groin, and inframammary areas. This study aimed to evaluate CBC parameters in HS patients and analyze their correlation with disease severity to identify potential biomarkers of systemic inflammation. Methods The current cross‐sectional study compared 75 diagnosed HS patients with 75 healthy individuals. CBC parameters included WBC count, RBC count, platelet count, and their respective derived ratios: NLR and PLR. The severity of HS was assessed by SAHS scores and staging of the disease. The various blood markers were compared across groups and analyzed for correlations among each other, the disease severity and stage, and demographic factors. Results As for the CBC parameters in HS patients as compared with healthy controls, the following were the levels expressed in the study: higher RBC, higher platelets and mean platelet volume or MPV, besides lowered parameters of red blood cell distribution width or RDW, mean corpuscular volume or MCV and mean corpuscular hemoglobin or MCH with corresponding p ‐values of p = 0.01, p = 0.001 and p = 0.002, along with p < 0.0001 in each. However, no significant differences were seen in NLR ( p = 0.55) and PLR ( p = 0.73). Curiously, higher levels of RBCs were associated with less severe forms of the disease ( r = −0.26, p = 0.02), while male patients tended to have higher levels of RBCs and hemoglobin compared with females ( p < 0.001). Conclusion Specifically, the CBC parameters of RBC, RDW, MCV, and MCH were significantly different in HS patients and may thus represent more accessible markers of inflammation and activity. This study sets a promising role for CBC markers in the personalization of care in HS but confirmation of their value in larger populations is still needed.
Aryanian et al. (Fri,) studied this question.