|  | Healthcare Industry | Hospitals

Reasons for a Low WBC

A low white blood cell count, or WBC, can lead to a very serious infection. Patients who are at risk of developing a low count have to be careful to stay away from any possible sources of bacteria and pathogens. There are many reasons for a patient to have a low WBC, some of them non-specific. However, there are a few common, serious reasons for a patient to present this way, and that person should be treated carefully with infection precautions.

  1. Leukemia

    • Leukemia is a cancer in which the body produces too many white blood cells, but they are abnormal. These cells are usually precursors to the cells that fight off infection and are not in the count for active white blood cells. For this reason, people with leukemia have low white blood cell counts because the bone marrow is working overtime producing the abnormal cells.

    Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy

    • The treatments for cancer, both chemotherapy and radiation therapy, destroy white blood cells and leave the patient with a lower white blood cell count. This is why cancer patients are at a high risk for infection -- they do not have the infection fighting cells to protect them from disease.

    HIV/ AIDS

    • Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) the virus that causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is another reason for a low white blood cell count. This virus attacks the white blood cells and leaves a person open to infection. When a person's white blood cell count drops too low, the virus can progress to AIDS.

    Aplastic Anemia

    • In aplastic anemia, the bone marrow does not produce enough of any of the cells of the blood, including white blood cells. This can come on suddenly or progress more slowly. It can be caused by radiation and chemotherapy, some types of drugs and pregnancy, among other things.

    Hyperthyroidism

    • An overactive thyroid can cause low white blood cell counts. This is due to the medications used to treat hyperthyroidism. A very rare side effect of antithyroid medications is the lowering of the white blood cell count. This can leave a patient unknowingly open to infection.

    Lupus

    • Systemic lupus erythematosus is the most common type of lupus. It is an autoimmune disease which means that it is the body's own immune defenses attacking itself. The disease can destroy white blood cells, leading to a low count.

    Other Causes

    • There are drugs that can cause a low white blood cell count, such as antibiotics and water pills. An overactive spleen that destroys too many white blood cells can also be a culprit. Parasites and other infections can cause a low white blood cell count, as can myelofibrosis and myelodysplastic syndromes. Rheumatoid arthritis can also cause this to show up on a lab report. There are also a few congenital disorders that affect production of white blood cells that can cause chronically low counts.

Hospitals - Related Articles