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    Agranulocytosis, A Simple Guide to The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions
    Agranulocytosis, A Simple Guide to The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions
    Agranulocytosis, A Simple Guide to The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions
    Ebook105 pages55 minutes

    Agranulocytosis, A Simple Guide to The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions

    By Kenneth Kee

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    About this ebook

    Agranulocytosis

    Agranulocytosis is a dangerous condition which can occur from exposure to chemotherapy.

    One of my patients with lung cancer had just died from severe infection following the loss of white blood cells following her chemotherapy.

    What is Agranulocytosis?

    Agranulocytosis is a medical disorder in which the bone marrow does not make enough of a certain form of mature white blood cells (neutrophils).

    The bone marrow is the blood producing tissue inside bones.

    Agranulocytosis is a reduction in circulating neutrophils in the blood which forms 4-5% of total body neutrophil stores

    Most of the neutrophils are stored in the bone marrow, either as mitotically active (one third) or post-mitotic mature cells (two thirds)

    Granulocytopenia is defined as a reduced number of blood granulocytes such as neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils.

    Agranulocytosis is frequently used synonymously with neutropenia and is therefore confined to the neutrophil lineage alone.

    The danger of serious infection rises as the absolute neutrophil count (ANC) drops to the severely neutropenic range (< 500/μL).

    The period and severity of neutropenia is directly linked with the total incidence of all infections and of those infections that can threaten life.

    Causes

    Agranulocytosis may be due to:

    1. Autoimmune disorders
    2. Bone marrow diseases, such as myelodysplasia or large granular lymphocyte (LGL) leukemia
    3. Certain medicines used to treat diseases
    4. Chemotherapy
    5. Certain street addiction drugs
    6. Poor nutrition
    7. Preparation for bone marrow transplant
    8. Genetic problems

    Agranulocytosis results in a person not having enough of a specific form of white blood cells, such as neutrophils or granulocytes.

    A low neutrophil count may also happen when white blood cells are destroyed faster than they can be produced.

    Symptoms

    People with this disorder tend to have fevers and infections.

    Frequent presenting symptoms of neutropenia are:

    1. Low-grade fever
    2. Sore mouth
    3. Odynophagia
    4. Gingival pain and swelling
    5. Skin abscesses
    6. Recurrent sinusitis and otitis
    7. Symptoms of pneumonia (e.g., cough, dyspnea)
    8. Perirectal pain and irritation

    Patients with agranulocytosis normally present with:

    1. Sudden onset of malaise
    2. Sudden onset of fever, possibly with chills and prostration
    3. Stomatitis and periodontitis together with pain
    4. Pharyngitis, with difficulty in swallowing

    Lung infections are normally bacterial or fungal pneumonias.

    Physical signs on evaluation of a patient with agranulocytosis are:

    1. Fever
    2. Stomatitis
    3. Periodontal infection
    4. Cervical lymphadenopathy
    5. Skin infection: The skin examination focuses on rashes, ulcers, or abscesses
    6. Splenomegaly
    7. Related petechial bleeding
    8. Perirectal infection
    9. Growth retardation in children

    In agranulocytosis, the following may be present:

    1. Fever (often 40°C or higher)

    2. Rapid pulse and respiration

    3. Hypotension and signs of septic shock if infection has been present

    4. Painful aphthous ulcers in the oral cavity

    5. Swollen and tender gums

    Diagnosis

    The diagnosis of agranulocytosis requires the exclusion of infectious and drug-induced causes of neutropenia through the following laboratory tests:

    1. Full blood count: Including a differential count in assessing patients of agranulocytosis

    2. Differential white blood cell count

    3. Peripheral smear review by a pathologist

    The following studies apply to some patients with neutropenia:

    1. Antinuclear antibody

    2. Rheumatoid factor

    3. Serum immunoglobulin studies

    4. Liver function tests

    5. Peripheral blood flow cytometry

    6. T-cell gene rearrangement for T-cell clonality

    7. Parox

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherKenneth Kee
    Release dateOct 4, 2015
    ISBN9781311718761
    Agranulocytosis, A Simple Guide to The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions
    Author

    Kenneth Kee

    Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

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      Book preview

      Agranulocytosis, A Simple Guide to The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions - Kenneth Kee

      Agranulocytosis,

      A

      Simple

      Guide

      to

      The Condition,

      Diagnosis,

      Treatment

      And

      Related Conditions

      By

      Dr Kenneth Kee

      M.B., B.S. (Singapore)

      Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

      Copyright Kenneth Kee 2015 Smashwords Edition

      Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

      Dedication

      This book is dedicated

      To my wife Dorothy

      And my children

      Carolyn, Grace

      And Kelvin

      This book describes the Agranulocytosis, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which are seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

      This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

      If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

      Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Introduction

      I have been writing medical articles for my blog http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Conditions) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

      My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

      Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

      I then wrote an autobiolographical account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

      This autobiolographical account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Conditions into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://ken-med.com.

      From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 650 amazon kindle books and some into Smashwords.com eBooks.

      Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

      For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

      The later books go into more details of medical conditions.

      The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

      Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

      As I tried to bring you the latest information about a condition or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

      Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

      I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

      I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

      I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

      Chapter 1

      Agranulocytosis

      Agranulocytosis is a dangerous condition which can occur from exposure to chemotherapy.

      One of my patients with lung cancer had just died from severe infection following the loss of white blood cells following her chemotherapy.

      What is Agranulocytosis?

      Agranulocytosis is a medical disorder in which the bone marrow does not make enough of a certain form of mature white blood cells (neutrophils).

      The bone marrow is the blood producing tissue inside bones.

      Agranulocytosis is a reduction in circulating neutrophils in the blood which forms 4-5% of total body neutrophil stores

      Most of the neutrophils are stored in the bone marrow, either as mitotically active (one third) or post-mitotic mature cells (two thirds)

      Granulocytopenia is defined as a reduced number of blood granulocytes such as neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils.

      Agranulocytosis is frequently used synonymously with neutropenia and is therefore confined to the neutrophil lineage alone.

      The danger of serious infection rises as the absolute neutrophil count (ANC) drops to the severely neutropenic range (< 500/µL).

      The period and severity of neutropenia is directly linked with the total incidence of all infections and of those infections that can threaten life.

      What are the causes of Agranulocytosis?

      Causes

      Agranulocytosis may be due to:

      1. Autoimmune disorders

      2. Bone marrow diseases, such as myelodysplasia or large granular lymphocyte (LGL) leukemia

      3. Certain medicines used to treat diseases

      4. Chemotherapy

      5. Certain street addiction drugs

      6. Poor nutrition

      7.

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