WBC abnormalities Flashcards
- WBC > 10, 000
- In response to acute infection, trauma or inflammation
- WBCs release the colony-stimulating factor (CSF) to increase WBC production in the bone marrow
- Increase in one of the five types of WBC (neutrophilic, lymphcytic…)
Leukocytosis
- WBC <4,000
* Increased risk for infection
Leukopenia
Leukopenia is due to
- Viral infections
- Overwhelming bacterial infections (WBC consumption> production)
- Bone marrow disorders
- Certain drugs
specific reax of WBC
Leukoerythroblastic rxn
Leukamoid rxns
specific reaction of WBC with presence of nucleated RBC and immature neutrophils
Leukoerythroblastic reaction
What does the leukoerythroblastic reaction indicate?
severe disruption of marrow (common in myelofibrosis) and possible extramedullary hematopoiesis (secondary to metastatic cancer)
leukoerythroblastic reaction is secondary to what
tumor, fibrosis, lymphoma or leukemia
leukamoid reactions where WBC > 50 x 10^9/L indicate presence of immature forms such as
- Blast form
- Myelocytes
- Promyelocytes
- Metamyelocytes
It is the reactive leukocytosis seen in leukemia
Leukamoid reaction
benign or malignant condition
neutrophilia or the abnormally high neutrophil count (> 7.0 - 8.0 x 109 /L or 7000- 8000/uL) is associated with
• Acute inflammation • Acute stress • Myelocytic leukemia • Eclampsia • Gout • Autoimmune disease (Rheumatoid arthritis and Thyroiditis) • Trauma (Infection, inflammation, malignancy)
neutropenia or an abnormally low neutrophil count (ANC: <1500/uL) is associated with
• Aplastic anemia (low cell lines) • Widespread severe bacterial infection • Chemotherapy • Radiation therapy/ exposure • Viral infection • Increased risk of life-threatening bacterial infection
What happens if ANC 500 - 1000?
increased risk of
infection from exposure
What happens if ANC < 500?
increased risk of infection from host organisms/
normal flora
Causes of neutrophilia
- due to acute shift from marginating to circulating pool
- due to chronic stimulation (excess cytokine stimulates proliferative pool)
causes of neutrophilia due to chronic stimulation
- Infection
- Chemotherapy recovery
- Down’s Syndrome
- Myeloprliferative disorders
- Pregnancy or eclampsia
- Marrow metastases
T or F: neutropenia is the most common cause of leukopenia
true
extreme neutropenia (<0.5 x10^9/L)
agranulocytosis
Causes of neutropenia
(Inherited vs. acquired)
- Decreased neutrophil production
- Increased neutrophil destruction
- Sequestration
- Pseudoneutropenia
[Causes of neutropenia] Examples of inherited causes of decreased neutrophil production
• Defective stem cell development - Reticular dysgenesis - Cyclic neutropenia - Infantile agranulocytosis - Fanconi’s syndrome • Genetic disorders of IS • Disorders of cellular development - Chediak-Higashi syndrome - Lazy Leukocyte syndrome
[Causes of neutropenia] Examples of acquired causes of decreased neutrophil production
• Chemical Toxicity - Ionizing Radiation - Benzene • Marrow replacement • Nutritional deficiency -Vitamin B12, B9 (Folate) • Cytotoxic Drugs
[Causes of neutropenia]
What are the immune reactions involved in increased neutrophil destruction?
• Isoimmune: transplacental transfer of maternal IgG
• Autoimmune
• Drug-induced
- Immunologic neutropenia: drug and neutrophil surface protein form an antigenic complex; neutrophils are destroyed by complement or the clumps of neutrophils are removed from the circulation or sequestered in the lungs, spleen, etc.
[Causes of neutropenia]
Sequestration indicates a shift to what pool
marginal pool (Neutrophils are removed from circulation and are redistributed within the body)
[Causes of neutropenia] It is the transient reduction in count involving neutrophil agglutination due to edta and antipsychotic medications
pseudoneutrophenia
What are qualitative abnormalities in WBC?
Morphological alterations or toxic changes in response to stress, infection, or inflammation
• Pelger-Huët Anomaly
• Pseudo-Pelger-Huët Anomaly
Qualitative abnormalities seen in neutrophilia (shift to the left)
- Presence of increased numbers of immature/ younger/precursor/less differentiated granulocyte neutrophils in the peripheral blood
- Reflects early or premature release of myeloid cells from the bone marrow, the site where neutrophils are generated
conditions where qualitative abnormalities seen in neutrophilia (shift to the left)
• Found in:
- Normal in pregnancy or neonate
- Infections
- Bone marrow fibrosis
- Bone marrow infiltration by malignancies
Qualitative abnormalities in WBC also indicate
- Evidence of maturation abnormalities
- Alterations in functional activity
- Degenerative changes
What is the best
indicator of severity of infection?
Ratio of non-segmented and segmented neutrophils
Pelger-Huët Anomaly shows neutrophils with
uniformly sized round or bilobed nuclei (due to failure to segment)
an autosomal dominant inherited disorder with no clinical effect
Pelger-Huët Anomaly
*may be misinterpreted as shift to left
Pseudo-Pelger-Huët Anomaly morphology
Bilobed neutrophils with more condensed chromatin
Pseudo-Pelger-Huët Anomaly are found in
- Myelodysplastic syndromes
- Idiopathic myelofibrosis
- Chronic leukemia
- Drug Therapy
- Infections (Malaria)
Cytoplasmic abnormalities of neutrophils
- Toxic granules
- Dohle bodies
- May-Heggelin anomaly
- Vacuolation
- Degranulation
- Pseudopods
- Auer rods
- Swelling
morphology of toxic granules
- Altered primary granules through simulation of antigens
- Large, dark blue-back granules
- Clustering within the cell
[Cytoplasmic abnormalities] Transient cytoplasmic inclusions consisting of rRNA in parallel rows which are pale blue, round or elongated bodies, 1 – 5 μm located near cell membranes
Dohle bodies