Agranulocytosis
| Agranulocytosis | |
|---|---|
| Specialty | Hematology, immunology |
| Symptoms | Rigors, fever, sore throat, rapid infection |
| Complications | Sepsis |
| Causes | Idiosyncratic reactions to certain drugs |
| Risk factors | Cocaine use |
| Diagnostic method | Complete blood count, bone marrow examination |
| Differential diagnosis | Aplastic anemia, paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, myelodysplasia, leukemia |
Agranulocytosis, also known as agranulosis or granulopenia, is an acute condition involving a severe and dangerous lowered white blood cell count (leukopenia, most commonly of neutrophils) and thus causing neutropenia in the circulating blood.[1] It is a severe lack of one major class of infection-fighting white blood cells. People with this condition are at very high risk of serious infections due to their suppressed immune system.
In agranulocytosis, the concentration of granulocytes (a major class of white blood cells that includes neutrophils, basophils, and eosinophils) drops below 200 cells/mm3 of blood.
- ^ Neutropenia at eMedicine