Neutrophil Leukocyte Morphology, Cigarette Smoking, and Palmoplantar Pustulosis

Neutrophil leukocyte morphology was examined in whole blood films from 20 patients with palmoplantar pustulosis (PPP) and 32 healthy controls. In the PPP patients, there was a significant increase in the number of neutrophils having polarized morphology or membrane ruffling; however, there was no significant difference in neutrophil morphology between cigarette smokers and nonsmokers, suggesting that the epidemiologic link between smoking and PPP is not explained by increased polarization of peripheral blood neutrophils.