A peripheral blood leukocyte count that is consistently below 4.0 x 109/L is called leukopenia. The symptoms produced by leukopenia are related to the degree of leukopenia.
In mild hypocytosis, patients may have no specific clinical symptoms, or may only have mild discomfort such as low fever and malaise. Moderate and severe decreases are prone to infections and non-specific symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, dizziness, and loss of appetite, etc. The common sites of infection are respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract and genitourinary tract.
For leukopenia, mild decreases have no specific manifestations and generally do not require special precautions. Moderately reduced individuals have an increased rate of infection and should be prevented by maintaining hygiene and removing chronic foci of infection. Those with severe deficiency are highly susceptible to serious infections and should be treated with aseptic isolation measures and symptomatic treatment with antibacterial and immunomodulatory drugs according to the corresponding source of infection, as well as leukopoiesis-promoting drugs to increase the number of leukocytes in the body and reduce complications.
Thus, depending on the degree of leukocyte reduction, patients may have different clinical symptoms and different treatment. When blood tests indicate that the leukocyte count is consistently lower than normal, patients should seek timely medical attention, improve systematic and formal examination and laboratory tests, and provide accurate treatment after a clear diagnosis.