Neutropenia
Neutropenia
Updated: 08/03/2020
© Jun Wang,
MD, PhD
General features
- Heterogeneous group of disorders of decrease in circulating neutrophils
- Grading by absolute neutrophil count: Mild (1000-1500/mm3), Moderate (500-1000/ mm3), and severe (<500/ mm3)
- Risk of serious infection, especially when absolute neutrophil count (ANC) (< 500/ mm3)
- Agranulocytosis: Absence of neutrophils in peripheral blood, usually applied if ANC < 100/ mm3
- Granulocytopenia: Reduced number of blood granulocytes, namely neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils
Clinical features
- Risk of infection
Key pathogenesis
- Reduced production: Toxicity of medication or other substances probably to stem cells, or immune response
- Ineffective hematopoiesis: MDS, megaloblastic anemias, etc
- Increased destruction or sequestration: Immune mediated neutrophilic injuries, splenomegaly
- Increased peripheral utilization: Infection, etc
- Congenital: Isolated neutropenia, etc
Benign ethnic neutropenia
- African descent
- No increased risk for infection
- Associated with polymorphism of Duffy antigen receptor
- No treatment needed
Autoimmune neutropenia
- Most common in children
- Due to anti-neutrophil antibodies
- Commonly seen targets by autoimmune IgG: Neutrophil glycosylated isoforms of FC gamma receptor IIIb (or CD 16b), human neutrophil antigen 1 (HNA1) and, less commonly, HNA4
- Recurrent infections
- Usually self limited in infancy, last 2-3 years
- Late childhood and adults AIN: more common in female, rare self remission
- Differential diagnosis: Other primary immunodeficiency disorders (usually has lymphocytopenia and/or abnormal immunoglobulin levels)
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