Lymphocytopenia
You don't need to be Editor-In-Chief to add or edit content to WikiDoc. You can begin to add to or edit text on this WikiDoc page by clicking on the edit button at the top of this page. Next enter or edit the information that you would like to appear here. Once you are done editing, scroll down and click the Save page button at the bottom of the page.
| Lymphocytopenia Classification and external resources | |
| ICD-9 | 288.8 |
|---|---|
| DiseasesDB | 7677 |
| MeSH | D008231 |
|
WikiDoc Resources for Lymphocytopenia | |
|
Articles | |
|---|---|
|
Most recent articles on Lymphocytopenia Most cited articles on Lymphocytopenia | |
|
Media | |
|
Powerpoint slides on Lymphocytopenia | |
|
Evidence Based Medicine | |
|
Clinical Trials | |
|
Ongoing Trials on Lymphocytopenia at Clinical Trials.gov Trial results on Lymphocytopenia Clinical Trials on Lymphocytopenia at Google
| |
|
Guidelines / Policies / Govt | |
|
US National Guidelines Clearinghouse on Lymphocytopenia NICE Guidance on Lymphocytopenia
| |
|
Books | |
|
News | |
|
Commentary | |
|
Definitions | |
|
Patient Resources / Community | |
|
Patient resources on Lymphocytopenia Discussion groups on Lymphocytopenia Patient Handouts on Lymphocytopenia Directions to Hospitals Treating Lymphocytopenia Risk calculators and risk factors for Lymphocytopenia
| |
|
Healthcare Provider Resources | |
|
Causes & Risk Factors for Lymphocytopenia | |
|
Continuing Medical Education (CME) | |
|
International | |
|
| |
|
Businness | |
|
Experimental / Informatics | |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Phone:617-525-6884
Please Take Over This Page and Apply to be Editor-In-Chief for this topic: There can be one or more than one Editor-In-Chief. You may also apply to be an Associate Editor-In-Chief of one of the subtopics below. Please mail us [2] to indicate your interest in serving either as an Editor-In-Chief of the entire topic or as an Associate Editor-In-Chief for a subtopic. Please be sure to attach your CV and or biographical sketch.
Lymphocytopenia, or lymphopenia, is the condition of having an abnormally low level of lymphocytes in the blood. Lymphocytes are a white blood cell with important functions in the immune system. The opposite is lymphocytosis, which refers to an excessive level of lymphocytes.
Causes
Lymphocytopenia can be caused by various types of chemotherapy, such as with cytotoxic agents or immunosuppressive drugs. Some malignancies in the bone marrow also cause lymphocytopenia.
People exposed to large doses of radiation, such as those involved with Chernobyl, can have severe lymphocytopenia.
A decreased number of certain types of lymphocytes, notably T cells, is a characteristic of AIDS.
Idiopathic CD4+ lymphocytopenia is the condition of having an abnormally low level of CD4+ T-cells. It has no known cause[1] and is not associated with AIDS or any known infectious agent such as HIV or HTLV.[1] It is associated with higher risks of opportunistic infections and cancer.[1]
Lymphocytopenia may be present as part of a pancytopenia, when the total numbers of all types of blood cells are reduced. This can occur in marrow failure.
Associations
Lymphocytopenia, but not idiopathic CD4+ lymphocytopenia, is associated with corticosteroid use, infections with HIV and other viral, bacterial, and fungal agents, Hodgkin's disease, leukemia, malnutrition, systemic lupus erythematosus,[1] high stress levels, whole body radiation, rheumatoid arthritis, and iatrogenic conditions.
Diagnosis
- Lymphocytopenia is diagnosed from the results of a complete blood count.
- In adults, a lymphocyte level below 1.500 cells/microliter is suspected and below 1000 cells/microliter is diagnostic.
- In children, a lymphocyte level below 3.000 cells/microliter is diagnostic.
Differential Diagnosis
- After influenza
- After snakebite
- Anesthesia
- Antibody deficiency syndrome
- Aplastic Anemia
- Banti's Syndrome
- Burns
- Congenital immune deficiency
- Cushing's Disease
- Dermatomyositis
- Drugs, toxins
- Exudative enteropathy
- Felty's Syndrome
- Heavy exercise
- HIV
- Hodgkin's Lymphoma
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Lymphocyte tuberculosis
- Measles
- Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria
- Polycythemia
- Postoperative
- Pregnancy
- Sarcoidosis
- Scarlet Fever
- Secondary hypersplenia
- Severe pain
- Single non-Hodgkin's lymphomas
- Surgery
- Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
- Trauma
- Tuberculosis
- Uremia
- Whipple's Disease
- Zinc deficiency [1] [1]
Prognosis
Lymphocytopenia that is caused by infections tends to resolve once the infection has cleared. Patients with idiopathic CD4+ lymphocytopenia may have either abnormally low but stable CD4+ cell counts, or abnormally low and progressively falling CD4+ cell counts; the latter condition is terminal.
References
External links
Acknowledgements
The content on this page was first contributed by C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D.
List of contributors:
Suggested Reading and Key General References
Suggested Links and Web Resources
For Patients
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
