Most people do not feel any discomfort in their daily lives and are easily overlooked. Most patients are told to go to the hematology department to check for hematologic disorders, and after ruling out hematologic disorders, they do nothing, or they go to the health food or herbal medicine to “take care of it”. If the cause of leukopenia is found in a timely manner, treatment of the cause will benefit the patient’s health and reduce the delay or misdiagnosis of certain rare diseases.
Leukopenia may not have any clinical symptoms, but may be detected during a physical examination, or the patient may experience fatigue, dizziness, insomnia, or loss of appetite. When leukopenia is more severe, it is prone to various infections, manifesting as high fever, sore throat, ulcers, and also necrotic ulcers in the rectum and anus, which can easily develop secondary to sepsis and should be taken seriously to avoid serious consequences.
There are many causes of leukopenia, the most common of which is infection, usually accompanied by cold-like symptoms. Patients with leukopenia without any symptoms should beware if it is an early manifestation of an autoimmune disease, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, dry syndrome, etc.
Leukopenia is more common in autoimmune diseases. Studies have shown that patients with autoimmune diseases have a variety of autoantibodies in their sera, including anti-lymphocyte antibodies, anti-SSA antibodies, snRNP antibodies and ds-DNA antibodies that are lymphotoxic. Specific auto-antibodies can cause cellular dysregulation and routine laboratory tests show lower than normal white blood cells. Therefore, when leukocyte abnormalities are found, a professional needs to analyze and rule out other causes of leukopenia in conjunction with other clinical data to make a correct judgment, especially when the cause is unknown, and to seek prompt consultation with a rheumatology specialist.
Patients with leukopenia should seek immediate medical attention. The white blood cells in the blood are the body’s patrol to defend against bacterial invasion. When bacteria and other foreign bodies invade, white blood cells enter the invaded area and surround, devour and destroy the bacteria, so white blood cells are known as the body’s “white guards”. When the number of white blood cells decreases, the body’s antibacterial ability is weakened, making it susceptible to infection. It is important to go to a general hospital and undergo a formal examination and diagnosis for clarification, treatment and life guidance.