Chapter 24: White Blood Cells

Normal WBC count:

5,000-10,000

LOW WBC COUNT STATES:

Leukopenia:

Low WBC count.

LOW WBC COUNT STATES:

Neutropenia (absolute neutrophil count less than 500):

Low neutrophil count; this patient would be at extremely high risk of infection.

LOW WBC COUNT STATES:

Aplastic anemia:

Loss of bone marrow function, not able to make cells.

CAUSES OF LOW WBC COUNT STATES:

• Medications: 

  • Chemotherapy intendly lowers WBC count

  • Medications that limit bone marrow function.

• Infection (viral, bacterial, parasites, AIDS)

• Disease:

  • Lupus

• Autoimmune disorders

Infectious Mononucleosis:

Lymphoproliferative Disorder.

Lymphoproliferative Disorder:

• Self-containing

• Not life threatening

Cause of Lymphoproliferative Disorder:

• Epstein Barr Virus (EBC)

• Cytomegalovirus (CMV)

How long does lymphoproliferative disorder last?

• Typically lasting 4-6 weeks:

  • Shouldn’t surround themselves with other people.

Symptoms of lymphoproliferative disorder:

• Fevers

• Fatigue/Malaise

Lymphadenopathy:

Increase size of the lymph nodes. 

Splenomegaly

• Everything is swelling up and filling up with all of these excess WBC

• Concern for splenic rupture

• No contact sports

Main Concern:

The spleen gets so large that it becomes relatively fragile and can possibly rupture.

Leukemia:

Too many WBC.

• Blood/Liquid.

• Faulty cells grow in marrow:

  • Blasts.

  • Bone Marrow.

• Faulty cells impact the ability to make healthy cells.

• Faulty cells not capable of fighting infection.

Blasts:

Immature WBC that don’t provide defense, but they crowd out the bone marrow and multiple.

Bone Marrow:

Make cells, they have the ability to produce healthy cells.

Lymphoma:

• Solid Tumors (Lumps/Bumps).

• Enlarged lymph nodes: These are where the cells are housed.

• Tumors formed in the Lymphatic system.

• “B”- Symptoms:

  • Itching.

  • Night sweats.

  • Lumps.

  • Fevers.

  • Weight loss.

Hodgkin VS. Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma:

• Hodgkin: Has the reed-sternberg cells. 

• Non-hodgkin: Does not have the reed-sternberg cells.

Lymphoma Treatments:

• Blood tests.

• Bone marrow test.

• Chest X-ray.

• Scans (X-Ray, CT, MRI, PET).

Lymphoma Common Treatments:

• Watchful waiting.

• Chemotherapy.

• Targeted Therapy.

• External radiation.

Acute Leukemias:

Happening relatively fast.

• 100,000 WBC count: Too many.

  • These blasts are not helpful, do not provide function.

Chronic Leukemias:

It happens relatively slow.

• 100,000 WBC count: Too many.

  • These blasts are not helpful, do not provide function.

Where do Leukemias come from?

• Lymphoid blasts: Granulocytes, monocytes.

• Myeloblast: Lymphocytes.

Leukemia AML:

• The cells crowd out bone marrow so they can’t make cells. As a result, these patients will have bleeding because they have low platelet levels.

• Overproduction of cells in the bone marrow will cause pain.

• Short of breath because of overcrowded bone marrow. 

Leukemia CML:

All these cancer cells use up our resources, which causes:

• Unexplained weight loss.

• Night sweats.

• Asymptomatic.

Leukemia Treatments:

• Stem cell transplant.

• Chemotherapy.

• Prevention of infection. 

Hematopoietic stem cells:

• Cells that are capable of only making various types of blood cells.

• These cells are able to make new RBC, WBC, and platelets.

Multiple Myeloma:

• Disease within the limb.

• Affects the plasma cells, which they usually help make antibodies.

• Have issues with bone marrow function properly. 

Multiple Myeloma Symptoms and Diagnosis:

• Anemia, high levels of calcium, bone pain and fractures, kidney problems, excessive bleeding, and numbness. 

• It pulls a lot of calcium from the bones into the blood, weak bones and high levels of calcium in the blood. The kidneys get overwhelmed by all of the calcium and causes a chain effect.

Multiple Myeloma Treatments:

• Chemotherapy

• Steroids. 

• Bisphosphonates.

• Targeted Therapy.

• Patients have lived up to 10 years.

Chemotherapy:

Kills cancer cells over the course of four to six weeks.

Steroids:

Reduce the discomfort. 

Bisphosphonates:

Medication that slows the damage and reduces overall pain.

Targeted Therapy:

Trying to heighten your immune response.