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Had a couple of blood count tests earlier in the year and both showed i had mild neutropenia at around 1.3 /mlitre (1.5 is definition of neutropenia). Am due another blood test but as I've been feeling a bit run down thought I'd put it off until I'm feeling a bit healthier. For reference my neutrophils count on 2 previous occasions (years ago) was around 2/ml
Doc thought it may be the result of a viral infection, but I've been feeling relatively good all year.
However, Recently I was in hospital having surgery after an accident and when they checked my bloods at the time the count was up to 6...it is apparently normal to see such a rise following trauma/surgery and as such the results don't reflect my 'normal' levels
My question is..Surely the whole danger of having neutropenia is that the body can't create enough of a certain type of white cell when it needs to? Can I be slightly reassured that my neutrophil count rose x4 immediately following the surgery, in line with what should happen when the body is looking to prevent infection?
In a word, yes.
Patients with persistent or severe neutropenia are at increased risk following trauma/surgery for obvious reasons - yours was a healthy response to the circumstances.
So in patients with 'severe and persistant' neutropenia, is the issue not just that the count is low normally, but more the fact their immune system is unable to react to risk of infection and so the count wouldn't increase when it needed to?
You might like to have a read of this:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2930213/
You make 50-100 billion cells per day, they live for a very short time with a tyical life-span of 6-8 hours. Low neutrophils may be a result of low production rate (e.g., during some chemotherapies) or excessive consumption (e.g., during inflammatory processes). It's a carefully balanced system as the cells can do some serious damage. We've done studies labelling cells to see how fast they distribute into tissues and it is remarkably rapid. Low levels are a signature of immunosupression, the reasons may be varied.
Thanks tired. So from what you have said am I right in thinking that if you had an issue producing them (ie issue with bone marrow etc) then they wouldbe below and not go up as a response to infection, but if they go up and then drop again it's more likely as a result of some other (for example) viral infection overcoming or using up the cells that are produced?
Or have I totally misunderstood?
Docs have been pretty vague..said come back in 3 months ec etc. I was meant to go this week but have had sniffles which I thought may skew results
A reading of 6 is a positive sign that your body has the capacity to step up production of neutrophils in response to trauma. It doesn't prove that the underlying low(ish) count is a non-issue, though, hence continuing to monitor you.
Interesting. Not 100% applicable but I was neutropenic twice after completing the chemotherapy for lymphoma which I am thankfully still in complete remission of. Once recovered from the neutropenia (with gcsf) it took about 2 weeks for my blood counts to recover. Very interesting paper that Tired, thanks.
Biker, happy to have a chat if you like.
Tired's link may as well have been written in a different language..a bit too technical for a simpleton such as myself.
A reading of 6 is a positive sign that your body has the capacity to step up production of neutrophils in response to trauma. It doesn’t prove that the underlying low(ish) count is a non-issue, though, hence continuing to monitor you.
Yep..they have looked at the cells and apparently they aren't 'clonal' which I am told is a good thing..but there were a few abnormalities that may point to some kind of virus. Not sure if that would tie in with the fact I can produce them when required but they don't seem to stay around for long.
Juan, thanks for the offer. May take you up on that if my next test is adverse.
Last question from me..How long to wait to get next blood test done? Sniffles have disappeared but I had a post surgery infection in my wrist (3 weeks after op), probably caused by a foreign body which i later fished out the seeping hole in my arm, and so was on antibiotics until last week. You reckon my numbers will be back up to 'normal' after 2 weeks of finishing the course?