BACKGROUND Periodontal diseases are chronic inflammatory conditions that require early screening for effective long-term management. Oral neutrophil counts (ONCs) correlate with periodontal inflammation. This study investigates a point-of-care test using a neutrophil enzyme activity (NEA) colorimetric strip for measuring periodontal inflammation. METHODS This prospective study had two phases. Phase 1 validated the relationship between ONCs and periodontal inflammation with 90 participants. Phase 2 examined the test's applicability in a real-world setting through a multicentre clinical trial with 375 participants at four sites. ONCs were quantified in oral rinses using laboratory-based methods, and the NEA strip was used for ONC stratification. Clinical measures included bleeding on probing (BoP), probing depth (PD) and clinical attachment loss (CAL). RESULTS ONCs were significantly elevated in patients with Grade B periodontitis and deep periodontal pockets (PD ≥ 5 mm, CAL ≥ 5 mm). The NEA strip accurately classified patients into high or low ONC categories, showing 80% sensitivity, 82.5% specificity and an AUC of 0.89. It also assessed the effectiveness of periodontal therapy in reducing ONC and inflammation. The test was user-friendly, with no reported discomfort among patients. CONCLUSION The NEA strip is a user-friendly and rapid screening tool for detecting high ONCs associated with periodontal inflammation and for evaluating the effectiveness of periodontal therapy.

中文翻译：

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利用口服中性粒细胞计数作为与牙周病相关的口腔炎症指标：一项盲法多中心研究。


背景 牙周病是慢性炎症性疾病，需要早期筛查才能进行有效的长期管理。口服中性粒细胞计数 （ONC） 与牙周炎相关。本研究调查了使用中性粒细胞酶活性 （NEA） 比色试纸测量牙周炎的即时测试。方法 这项前瞻性研究分为两个阶段。第 1 阶段在 90 名参与者中验证了 ONC 与牙周炎之间的关系。第 2 阶段通过一项多中心临床试验在现实世界中的适用性，该试验在 4 个地点有 375 名参与者参与。使用基于实验室的方法对漱口水中 ONCs 进行定量，并使用 NEA 试纸进行 ONC 分层。临床测量包括探诊出血 （BoP） 、探诊深度 （PD） 和临床附着丢失 （CAL）。结果 B 级牙周炎和深牙周袋患者 ONCs 显著升高 （PD ≥ 5 mm，CAL ≥ 5 mm）。NEA 试纸条将患者准确分为高或低 ONC 类别，敏感性为 80%，特异性为 82.5%，AUC 为 0.89。它还评估了牙周治疗在减少 ONC 和炎症方面的有效性。该测试对用户友好，没有报告患者感到不适。结论 NEA 试纸是一种用户友好的快速筛查工具，用于检测与牙周炎相关的高 ONCs 并评估牙周治疗的有效性。