Causes of Altered White Blood Cell Differential by Cell Type
| Cell Type | Increased Levels | Decreased Levels |
|---|---|---|
Neutrophils | Stress (allergies, exercise, childbirth, surgery) Extremes of temperature Acute hemorrhage or hemolysis Infectious diseases Inflammatory disorders (rheumatic fever, gout, rheumatoid arthritis, drug reactions, vasculitis, myositis) Tissue necrosis (burns, crushing injuries, abscesses Malignancies Metabolic disorders (uremia, eclampsia, diabetic ketoacidosis, thyroid crisis, Cushing's syndrome) Drugs (epinephrine, histamine, lithium, heavy metals, heparin, digitalis, ACTH) Toxins and venoms (turpentine, benzene) Leukemia (myelocytic) | Bone marrow depression (viruses, toxic chemicals, overwhelming infection, Felty's syndrome, Gaucher's disease, myelofibrosis, hypersplenism, pernicious anemia, radiation) Anorexia nervosa, starvation, malnutrition Folic acid deficiency Vitamin B12 deficiency Acromegaly Addison's disease Thyrotoxicosis Anaphylaxis Disseminated lupus erythematosus Drugs (alcohol, phenylbutazone [Butazolidin], phenacetin, penicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, phenytoin [Dilantin], mephenytoin [Mesantoin], phenacemide [Phenurone], tripelennamine [PBZ], aminophylline, quinine, chlorpromazine, barbiturates, dinitrophenols, sulfonamides, antineoplastics) |
| Bands (immature neutrophils) | Infections Antineoplastic drugs Any condition that causes neutrophilia | None, as bands should be absent or present only in small numbers |
| Basophils | Leukemia Hodgkin's disease Polycythemia vera Ulcerative colitis Nephrosis Chronic hypersensitivity states | None, as normal value is 0-1% |
| Eosinophils | Sickle cell disease Asthma Chorea Hypersensitivity reactions Parasitic infestations Autoimmune diseases Addison's disease Malignancies Sarcoidosis Chronic inflammatory diseases and dermatoses Leprosy Hodgkin's disease Polycythemias Ulcerative colitis Autoallergies Pernicious anemia Splenectomy | Disseminated lupus erythematosus Acromegaly Elevated steroid levels Stress Infectious mononucleosis Hypersplenism Cushing's syndrome Congestive heart failure Hyperplastic anemia Hormones (ACTH, thyroxine, epinephrine) |
| Monocytes | Infections (bacterial, viral, mycotic, rickettsial, amebic) Cirrhosis Collagen diseases Ulcerative colitis Regional enteritis Gaucher's disease Hodgkin's disease Lymphomas Carcinomas Monocytic leukemia Radiation Polycythemia vera Sarcoidosis Weil's disease Systemic lupus erythematosus Hemolytic anemias Thrombocytopenic purpura | Not characteristic of specific disorders |
| Lymphocytes | Infections (bacterial, viral) Lymphosarcoma Ulcerative colitis Banti's disease Felty's syndrome Myeloma Lymphomas Addison's disease Thyrotoxicosis Malnutrition Rickets Waldenström's macroglobulinemia Lymphocytic leukemia | Immune deficiency diseases Hodgkin's disease Rheumatic fever Aplastic anemia Bone marrow failure Gaucher's disease Hemolytic disease of the newborn Hypersplenism Thrombocytopenic purpura Transfusion reaction Massive transfusions Pernicious anemia Septicemia Pneumonia Burns Radiation Toxic chemicals (benzene, bismuth, DDT) Antineoplastic agents Adrenal corticosteroids (high doses) |