OVERVIEW
Overview of Granulocyte Deficiency
Granulocyte deficiency is a severe decrease in the absolute count of peripheral blood neutrophils below 0.5 x 109/L. The disease is rare in children and is mainly seen in adults over 25 years of age.
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Department
Hematology
Clinical Symptoms
Due to low immunity, most patients are prone to complications and infection-related symptoms, and some patients have symptoms such as weakness and fatigue.
Hazards
Causes local or systemic infection.
Examination
Blood routine, bone marrow related, rheumatology and immunity, endocrine, viral, bacterial, and other related tests.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis can be made on the basis of the clinical manifestations combined with the results of routine blood and bone marrow examination and other relevant tests.
Treatment principle
1 Remove the cause of the disease; 2 Control the complications (infection); 3 Increase the neutrophil count of the patient.
Curability
Some patients can return to normal.
Dietary recommendations
A soft, light, easy-to-chew and easy-to-digest diet is preferred.
Questions you may be concerned about
What is granulocyte deficiency
Granulocyte deficiency refers to a decrease in granulocytes, which is associated with reduced granulocyte production, impaired maturation, and excessive depletion, and can be characterized by high fever and headache. Granulocyte deficiency is a relatively common emergency in internal medicine. In general, granulocytopenia usually refers to neutropenia.
1. Aplastic anemia, acute leukemia, infection, tumor bone marrow infiltration can lead to reduced granulocyte production;
2. Vitamin B12 or folic acid deficiency can lead to impaired granulocyte maturation;
3. Systemic lupus erythematosus, sepsis, severe infections, etc. can lead to excessive granulocyte consumption.
All of these factors can lead to the occurrence of granulocyte deficiency. Patients with granulocyte deficiency may have high fever, chills, fatigue, muscle or joint pain, headache, loss of appetite and other systemic symptoms.
Specific treatments for the cause of the disease, such as aplastic anemia caused by granulocyte deficiency, need to be oral cyclosporine or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation therapy.
It is recommended to go to the hospital in time to find out the cause and receive regular treatment under the guidance of the physician if the above symptoms occur.
Causes
Epidemiology
Rarely seen in children, mainly in adults over 25 years of age.
Etiology
There are many causes of neutrophil deficiency, which are categorized into the following three aspects according to the different sites of action of each cause. Acting on the bone marrow: Bone marrow damage caused by drugs, radiation, chemicals, congenital diseases, immune diseases, infections, blood diseases, etc. leads to a decrease in granulocyte production; or vitamin deficiencies, various malignant diseases lead to granulocyte maturation disorders. Acting on peripheral blood: abnormal distribution of granulocytes. Acting on extravascular: various infections leading to increased utilization of granulocytes, or hypersplenism leading to excessive destruction of granulocytes.
Symptoms and Diagnosis
Typical symptoms
Patients often have oral, upper respiratory, and perianal infections due to low body resistance.
Other symptoms
Nonspecific systemic reactions include chills, malaise, high fever, sore throat, and headache.
Diagnostic basis
Routine blood count shows a granulocyte count below 0.5 x 109/L.
Treatment
Treatment guidelines
1 Remove the cause; 2 Control complications (infection); 3 Increase the patient’s neutrophil count.
Drug therapy
Antibiotics to control systemic infection; neutrophil-boosting drug therapy.
Other treatments
Ask the hematologist to suggest a treatment plan, such as injecting granulocyte colony-stimulating factor to promote the production of granulocytes or oophorectomy to reduce the retention of granulocytes in the spleen.
Prognosis
Most of the drug-induced disease can be recovered after stopping the drug, and the prognosis is good. Idiopathic and secondary to systemic disease granulocyte deficiency may recover after recovery from the primary disease.
Questions you may be concerned about
Key points in the management of granulocyte deficiency
The key points in the management of granulocyte deficiency include searching for the cause of the disease, preventing infection and promoting granulocyte production.
1. Finding the cause: the cause of granulocyte deficiency may be cytotoxicity caused by drugs, various infections, hereditary causes and blood diseases, etc. For example, aplastic anemia needs to be treated with cyclosporine, anti-human thymocyte globulin and other targeted treatments.
2. Prevent infection: patients with granulocyte deficiency are extremely susceptible to infections, so they need to strictly control the hygiene of the space in which they live, preferably in sterile wards, and minimize the contact of people, etc., and if necessary, they can use prophylactic antibiotics such as levofloxacin.
3. Promote granulocyte production: mainly granulocyte production drugs such as recombinant human colony-stimulating factor, if necessary, can be combined with the use of immunosuppressive drugs such as methotrexate, etc., can also be carried out bone marrow transplantation.
If you suffer from granulocyte deficiency, you should seek medical treatment in time, and the relevant drugs should be used under the guidance of the doctor.
Nursing care
Daily care
Pay attention to oral hygiene, live a regular life, exercise moderately and enhance immunity.
Dietary regimen
Take soft, light, easy to chew and easy to digest diet.