Leukopenia

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Leukopenia
Other namesleukocytopenia, leucopenia, leucopoenia
Infectiology, hematology

Leukopenia (from

white blood cells, and are the body's primary defense against an infection
. Thus the condition of leukopenia places individuals at increased risk of infection.

Signs and symptoms

Symptoms may include:

Leukopenia vs. neutropenia

neutrophil granulocytes, the most abundant white blood cells. The terms leukopenia and neutropenia may occasionally be used interchangeably, as the neutrophil count is the most important indicator of infection risk. Agranulocytosis is an acute form of neutropenia.[citation needed
]

Causes

Medical conditions

Low white cell count may be due to acute viral infections, such as a cold or

AIDS, and steroid use.[citation needed
]

Other causes of low white blood cell count include

minerals, such as copper and zinc.[citation needed
]

Pseudoleukopenia can develop upon the onset of infection. The leukocytes (primarily neutrophils, responding to injury first) start migrating toward the site of infection, where they can be scanned. Their migration causes bone marrow to produce more WBCs to combat infection as well as to restore the leukocytes in circulation, but as the blood sample is taken upon the onset of infection, it contains low amount of WBCs, which is why it is termed "pseudoleukopenia".[citation needed]

Medications

Certain medications can alter the number and function of white blood cells.[citation needed]

Medications that can cause leukopenia include

valproic acid (Depakote), a drug used for epilepsy (seizures), mania (with bipolar disorder) and migraine.[citation needed
]

The anticonvulsant drug, lamotrigine, has been associated with a decrease in white blood cell count.[2]

The FDA monograph for metronidazole states that this medication can also cause leukopenia, and the prescriber information suggests a complete blood count, including differential cell count, before and after, in particular, high-dose therapy.[3]

Interferons used to treat multiple sclerosis, such as interferon beta-1a and interferon beta-1b, can also cause leukopenia.[citation needed
]

Chemotherapy targets cells that grow rapidly, such as tumors, but can also affect white blood cells, because they are characterized by bone marrow as rapid growing.[5] A common side effect of cancer treatment is neutropenia, the lowering of neutrophils (a specific type of white blood cell).[6]

Decreased white blood cell count may be present in cases of

arsenic toxicity.[7]

Diagnosis

Leukopenia can be identified with a complete blood count.[8]

Below are blood reference ranges for various types leucocytes/WBCs.[9] The 2.5 percentile (right limits in intervals in image, showing 95% prediction intervals) is a common limit for defining leukocytosis.

References

  1. doi:10.15347/wjm/2014.010
    .
  2. PMID 7888892
    .
  3. ^ "Flagyl® metronidazole tablets" (PDF). FDA. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  4. PMID 22286650
    .
  5. ^ "What causes low blood cell counts?". Archived from the original on October 7, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
  6. ^ "Managing a Low White Blood Cell Count (Neutropenia)". Archived from the original on October 28, 2012. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
  7. PMID 18308700
    .
  8. ^ "What an Abnormal White Blood Cell Count Means". about.com. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  9. ^ Specific references are found in article Reference ranges for blood tests#White blood cells 2.

External links

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