|  | Conditions Treatments | Illness

List of Rods in Labs for CLL

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia manifests itself with vague clinical symptoms such as fatigue, fever and general malaise. It is generally manifested in older adults. CLL is not a disease common in those under 50 years of age. Diagnosis is made exclusively through blood testing. Specifically, compete blood counts, peripheral blood smears and often, special staining techniques of blood smears. Often a bone marrow sample is taken and observed by a pathologist.

  1. Auer Rods

    • Auer rods are small inclusions in a cell that is exclusively an immature, precursor or blast cell of the white cell lineage. Typically, they are believed to be crystalline or lysosomal in origin. Blasts are abnormal in any blood smear. The presence of these rods always indicate that the leukemia in question is of the myeloid or myelocytic type. These rods are not present in cells of the lymphocytic or chronic type of leukemia. They are always in acute myelocytic leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome. Myelocytic cell lines are different white blood cells than lymphocytes.

    CLL Rods

    • CLL rods are not Auer rods. CLL rods really do not exists although other inclusion bodies may be seen. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is often characterized by a large number of white blood cells. The typical white blood cell count can be as high as 250, 000 per cubic milliliter of blood. For comparison, the normal white cell count is 4,000- 11,000 per milliliter. Generally upon microscopic examination, the large number of white cells present are mature, fully developed lymphocytes. Upon confirmation by a pathologist, CLL is usually diagnosed when the picture resembles the high levels of mature white lymphocytes, the absence of blasts and other immature forms of lymphocytes, age of patient, clinical symptoms and result of bone marrow aspiration stains. The marrow of CLL patients are hypercellular, rapidly producing lymphocytes in high numbers but allowing them to mature before release from marrow into peripheral blood.

    Auer Rods and CLL

    • According to the American College of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP), Auer rods are not seen in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Therefore, if a diagnosis of CLL is made and these rods are mentioned, the patient should be retested by another doctor who is a board certified and experienced hematologist/oncologist.

Illness - Related Articles