1. Infection Intro

Question 1

What does a FBC include?

Answer 1

• white blood cell (WBC) count
• white blood cell differential
• haemoglobin
• haematocrit
• mean corpuscular volume ( size of rbc’s)

Question 2

What are the 5 different types of white blood cells?

Answer 2

Neutrophils (PMNs)
Lymphocytes 
Monocytes
Eosinophils 
Basophils

Question 3

Which cell counts are commonly reported in relation to infection?

Answer 3

Neutrophil and WBC

Lymphocyte also relevant

Question 4

What is the difference between WBC count and white blood cell differential?

Answer 4

WBC count is a count of the actual number of white blood cells per volume of blood.

White blood cell differentiation looks at the types of white blood cells present - 5 different classes.

Question 5

Which type of white blood cell are the first line of defence against bacterial infection ?

Answer 5

Neutrophils

Question 6

When might WBC count be increased?

Answer 6

Infections, inflammation, cancer, autoimmune conditions, bone marrow failure, enlarged spleen.

Question 7

How would you expect neutrophil count to change during infection?

Answer 7

Increased in some bacterial infections but can be suppressed in other infections.

Question 8

When might lymphocyte count be increased or decreased?

Answer 8

During viral infections.

Increased in conditions such as chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

Question 9

What is the standard investigation for a patient that might have an infection?

Answer 9

Full Blood Count