The role of peripheral lymphocytes in the prediction of recurrence in Crohn's disease

Sixty-five patients with Crohn's disease admitted for surgical treatment to The Mount Sinai Hospital were studied prospectively to determine whether or not preoperative peripheral lymphocyte counts correlate with early recurrence. Twenty-four patients had symptomatic recurrent disease develop within three years after operation. Patients who had recurrences were found to have significantly lower preoperative lymphocyte counts than patients doing well three years after surgical resection. Sixty-nine per cent of the patients with preoperative lymphocyte counts of less than 1,000 cells per cubic millimeter had recurrent disease develop within three years of the operation. In contrast, only 8% of the patients with preoperative lymphocyte counts of more than 2,100 cells per cubic millimeter had recurrences. It appears that patients with marked preoperative lymphocytopenia are more likely to develop early symptomatic recurrences after surgical treatment than patients with normal lymphocyte counts.