Leukopenia

Overview
Leukopenia (or leukocytopenia, or leucopenia or leukopaenia) is a decrease in the number of circulating white blood cells (leukocytes) in the blood. As the principal function of white cells is to combat infection, a decrease in the number of these cells can place patients at increased risk for infection.

In pancytopenia, the other cell types in the blood (red blood cells and platelets) are similarly affected.

Neutropenia is a decrease in the number of circulating neutrophil granulocytes, the most abundant white blood cells. The terms leukopenia and neutropenia may occasionally be used interchangeably, as the neutrophil count is the most important indicator of infection risk. However, neutropenia is more properly considered a subset of leukopenia as a whole.

Low white cell counts are associated with chemotherapy, radiation therapy, leukemia (as malignant cells overwhelm the bone marrow), myelofibrosis and aplastic anemia (failure of white and red cell creation, along with poor platelet production). In addition, many common medications can cause leukopenia.

Other causes of low white blood cell count include: Influenza, systemic lupus erythematosus, typhus, malaria, HIV, tuberculosis, dengue, Rickettsial infections, enlargement of the spleen, folate deficiencies and sepsis. Many other causes exist.

Leukopenia can be identified with a complete blood count.


 * Acute after certain infections
 * Agranulocytosis
 * Alcoholism
 * Aplastic Anemia
 * Benign familial neutropenia
 * Benign neutropenia in black people
 * Bone marrow damage
 * Brucellosis
 * Cachexia
 * Chickenpox
 * Chronically in HIV infection
 * Cyclic neutropenia
 * Degenerative and inflammatory vasculopathies
 * Diphtheria
 * Diuretics
 * Drug-induced granulocytopenias
 * Drugs
 * Epstein-Barr Virus
 * Exanthema subitum
 * Folic acid deficiency
 * HIV
 * Hyperglobulia
 * Hypersplenism
 * Hypopituitarism
 * Hypothyroidism
 * Idiopathic
 * Infection
 * Infectious hepatitis
 * Infectious mononucleosis
 * Influenza
 * Iron deficiency anemia
 * Kala-Azar
 * Kostmann Syndrome
 * Leukemia (acute)
 * Lipid storage disease
 * Malaria
 * Malignant lymphomas
 * Myeloproliferative disorders
 * Ornithosis
 * Osteomyelosclerosis
 * Paraproteinemia
 * Paratyphus
 * Parvovirus B19
 * Pernicious anemia
 * Poliomyelitis
 * Primary and secondary varicosis
 * Rickettsial infection
 * Sjogren's Syndrome
 * Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
 * Thyrotoxicosis
 * Toxoplasmosis
 * Tuberculosis
 * Tularemia
 * Tumor infiltration
 * Typhoid Fever
 * Varicella
 * Vein Compression Syndrome
 * Vitamin B12 Deficiency
 * Yellow Fever