Neutropenia is the decrease in the amount of neutrophils, which are the blood cells responsible for fighting infections, ideally the amount of neutrophils is between 1500 and 8000 /mm3, however, due to changes in the bone marrow or the maturation process of these.cells, the amount of neutrophils in circulation may decrease, which characterizes neutropenia.
Depending on the amount of neutrophils found, neutropenia can be classified according to their severity by:
- The lower the amount of circulating neutrophils.
- The more vulnerable the person is to the infection.
- It is important that the neutropenia is carefully evaluated.
- As the result may have been influenced by problems in the collection.
- Storage of samples or changes in the equipment where the test is performed.
- For example.
- It is therefore recommended to estimate the total number of neutrophils to see if.
- In fact.
- Neutropenia exists.
In addition, when the number of red blood cells and platelets is normal and the number of neutrophils is low, repeated blood counts are recommended to confirm neutropenia.
The decrease in the amount of neutrophils may be due to insufficient production or changes in the maturation process of neutrophils in the bone marrow or a higher rate of destruction of neutrophils in the blood.Thus, the main causes of neutropenia are:
In addition, neutropenia may occur as a result of treatment with certain medications, such as aminopirin, propyliouracil and penicillin, for example, or due to a deficiency of vitamin B12 or folic acid, for example.
Learn more about neutrophils
Cyclic neutropenia is an autosomal dominant genetic disease characterized by a decrease in neutrophil levels per cycle, i.e. every 21 days, most of the time, there is a decrease in the number of neutrophils in circulation.
This disease is rare and is caused by a mutation in a gene present on chromosome 19 that is responsible for the production of an enzyme, elastase, in neutrophils; in the absence of this enzyme, neutrophils are most often destroyed.
Febrile neutropenia occurs when there is a small amount of neutrophils, usually less than 500/L, that promote infections and lead to an increase in body temperature, usually above 38 degrees Celsius.
Therefore, treatment of febrile neutropenia involves taking antifebrile medications, oral or venous antibiotics, as directed by your doctor to control infection and injections of neutrophil growth factors, to combat neutropenia.In addition, it may also be necessary to add a second antimicrobial to treatment if the patient continues to have a fever after 5 days of initiation of treatment.