Neutropenia

Neutropenia General Information

Neutropenia Symptoms

Neutropenia Treatment

As so many other treatments, the one for Neutropenia also depends mainly on the severity and on what caused the disease. The process of diagnosing and treating is long and very confusing for the patient and for the family. The evaluation of the patient its self may demand a lot of time and patience. Each person has another experience and the disease acts differently. So that any doubt, incertitude or question can be addressed to a physician. In general, more than one investigation is needed to establish the right diagnosis in order to proceed as fast as possible with a therapy and avoid any complications. For guidance on management hematology consultations may be necessary. On a full blood count can be detected low neutrophil counts. In some cases this analysis is not enough because the diagnosis may still be uncertain. Then, or if other serious causes are suspected the next step is a bone marrow biopsy and aspiration. In prolonged neutropenic fever or in severe infections that do not respond to the respective treatment, the right thing to do is an infectious disease consultation. The health care providers will remove any harmful agents or drugs and will administrate some stool softeners for a possible constipation. It is also very important to prevent infections of the teeth or mucosa with the adequate oral hygiene. The skin must be treated carefully to avoid any abrasions or wounds. The diet during a severe Neutropenia must be followed with strictness because the patient should eliminate any risks of possible infection. The sources of infection may be the same that cause allergies in the every-day life, for examples flowers, fresh vegetables and fruits.

An ideal therapy for this disease is not yet discovered. All the doctors have are some effective alternative treatments. Patients with autosomal recessive Kostmann's syndrome, severe congenital Neutropenia, myelokathexis and cyclic Neutropenia (in few words, with congenital form) may be helped using recombinant G-CSF (granulocyte-colony stimulating factor) that can have some very effective and fast visible answers. Neutropenia can also be caused by other diseases, such as leukemia, other cancers or tuberculosis, the treatment being simpler, consisting in drugs or therapies for the underlying disease. In comparison with other kind of cancers, this one cannot be treated with a transplantation of stem cells or bone morrow. But what can be treated are some certain causes leading to it (leukemia or aplastic anemia). Patients suffering of severe forms of this disease do not have enough means to fight against the organisms invading their bodies so they can succumb very fast to infection. Immediately hospitalization and powerful antibiotics are given even if the exact location of the infection is not known as soon as the patient has developed the infection. An extremely important factor that shows the gravity of the situation, the existence of an infection in the body and that an urgent medical care is needed is the fever. When this disease is accompanied by a viral infection, it is a sign that will disappear once the infection is gone.