Agranulocytosis
White blood cells fight infections from bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other germs. One important type of white blood cell is the granulocyte, which is made in the bone marrow and travels in the blood throughout the body. Granulocytes sense infections, gather at sites of infection, and destroy the germs.
When the body has too few granulocytes, the condition is called agranulocytosis. This makes it harder for the body to fight off germs. As a result, the person is more likely to get sick from infections.
Causes
Agranulocytosis may be caused by:
-
Autoimmune disorders
Autoimmune disorders
An autoimmune disorder occurs when the body's immune system attacks and destroys healthy body tissue by mistake. There are more than 80 autoimmune d...
Read Article Now Book Mark Article - Bone marrow diseases, such as myelodysplasia or large granular lymphocyte (LGL) leukemia
- Certain medicines used to treat diseases, including cancer
- Certain street drugs
- Poor nutrition
- Preparation for bone marrow transplant
Bone marrow transplant
A bone marrow transplant is a procedure to replace damaged or diseased bone marrow with healthy bone marrow stem cells. Bone marrow is the soft, fatt...
Read Article Now Book Mark Article - Problem with genes
Symptoms
Symptoms of this condition may include:
- Fever
- Chills
- Malaise
- General weakness
- Sore throat
- Mouth and throat ulcers
-
Bone pain
Bone pain
Bone pain or tenderness is aching or other discomfort in one or more bones.
Read Article Now Book Mark Article -
Pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is a breathing (respiratory) condition in which there is an infection of the lung. This article covers community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). ...
Read Article Now Book Mark Article -
Shock
Shock
Septic shock is a serious condition that occurs when a body-wide infection leads to dangerously low blood pressure.
Read Article Now Book Mark Article
Exams and Tests
A white blood cell differential test will be done to measure the percentage of each type of white blood cell in your blood.
White blood cell differential
The blood differential test measures the percentage of each type of white blood cell (WBC) that you have in your blood. It also reveals if there are...
Read Article Now Book Mark ArticleOther tests to diagnose the condition may include:
-
Bone marrow biopsy
Bone marrow biopsy
A bone marrow biopsy is the removal of marrow from inside bone. Bone marrow is the soft tissue inside bones that helps form blood cells. It is foun...
Read Article Now Book Mark Article -
Biopsy of mouth ulcer
Biopsy of mouth ulcer
An oropharynx lesion biopsy is surgery in which tissue from an abnormal growth or mouth sore is removed and checked for disease.
Read Article Now Book Mark Article - Neutrophil antibody studies (blood test)
Treatment
Treatment depends on the cause of the low white blood cell count. For example, if a medicine is the cause, stopping or changing to another medicine may help. In other cases, medicines to help the body make more white blood cells will be used.
Outlook (Prognosis)
Treating or removing the cause often results in a good outcome.
Prevention
If you are having treatment or taking medicine that could cause agranulocytosis, your health care provider will use blood tests to monitor you.
Reviewed By
Todd Gersten, MD, Hematology/Oncology, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute, Wellington, FL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
Cook JR. Bone marrow failure syndromes. In: Hsi ED, ed. Hematopathology. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2018:chap 5.
Klokkevold PR, Mealey BL. Influence of systemic conditions. In: Newman MG, Takei HH, Klokkevold PR, Carranza FA, eds. Newman and Carranza's Clinical Periodontology. 13th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2019:chap 14.
Sive J, Foggo V. Haematological disease. In: Feather A, Randall D, Waterhouse M, eds. Kumar and Clarke's Clinical Medicine. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 17.
Disclaimer