scholarly journals Decrease in white blood cell counts after thiopentone barbiturate therapy for refractory intracranial hypertension: A common complication

2013 ◽  
Vol 04 (S 01) ◽  
pp. S31-S34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shin Yi Ng ◽  
Ki Jinn Chin ◽  
Tong Kiat Kwek

ABSTRACT Background: Leucopenia has been reported after induction of thiopentone barbiturate therapy for refractory intracranial hypertension. However, the incidence and characterisitics are not well described. Aims: We performed a retrospective review to describe the incidence and characteristics of leucopenia after induction of thiopentone barbiturate therapy. Setting and Design: Our centre is a national referral centre for neurotrauma and surgery in a tertiary medical institution.Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective review of all patients who received thiopentone barbiturate therapy for refractory intracranial hypertension during an 18 month period from January 2004 to June 2005 in our neurosurgical intensive care unit. Statistical Analysis Used: Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 15.0. All data are reported as mean ± standard deviation or median (interquartile range). The Chi square test was used to analyze categorical data and student t test done for comparison of means. For paired data, the paired t?test was used.-test was used. Results: Thirty eight (80.9%) out of 47 patients developed a decrease in white blood cell (WBC) count after induction of thiopentone barbiturate coma. The mean decrease in WBC from baseline to the nadir was 6.4 × 10 9 /L (P <lt; 0.001) and occurred 57 (3-147) h after induction. The mean nadir WBC was 8.6 < 3.6 × 10 9 /L. Three (6.4%) patients were leucopenic, with a WBC count of 2.8, 3.1, and 3.6 < 10 9 /L. None of them were neutropenic. We did not find an association between decrease in WBC count and clinical diagnosis of infection. We did not find any association between possible risk factors such as admission GCS, maximum ICP prior to induction of barbiturate coma, APACHE II score, total duration and dose of thiopentone given, and decrease in WBC count. Conclusions: Decrease in WBC count is common, while development of leucopenia is rare after thiopentone barbiturate coma. Regular monitoring of WBC counts is recommended.

Blood ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 104 (11) ◽  
pp. 3148-3148
Author(s):  
Gregory A. Abel ◽  
J. Taylor Hays ◽  
Paul Decker ◽  
Gary Croghan ◽  
David J. Kuter ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND: Previous work has demonstrated that smokers have higher white blood cell counts than nonsmokers, but the effect of biochemically-confirmed smoking cessation on peripheral leukocyte counts has not been demonstrated in a large prospective study. METHODS: Subjects were healthy smokers enrolled in a trial of sustained-release bupropion for relapse prevention after smoking cessation. White blood cell (WBC) counts and absolute neutrophil counts (ANC) were measured at baseline, week 7 and week 52. Smoking status was assessed at weeks 7 and 52 by self-report and biochemically confirmed with expired air carbon monoxide levels. Multivariate analyses compared changes in WBC count and ANC between smokers who did and did not stop smoking, adjusting for treatment group, age, sex, and body mass index. RESULTS: Of 784 smokers enrolled, 461 had biochemically-confirmed tobacco abstinence after 7 weeks of bupropion; 429 were randomly assigned to receive continued bupropion or placebo until week 52. At baseline, the mean WBC count was 8.4 x 109/L (SD ±2.3) and the mean ANC was 5.3 x 109/L (SD ±1.9). The baseline WBC count and ANC were higher in smokers with greater tobacco exposure, measured by daily cigarette consumption and serum cotinine level. Between baseline and week 7, there was a significantly larger decrease in WBC count in continuously abstinent subjects compared with continuing smokers (adjusted p =.031). At 52 weeks, biochemically-confirmed continuously abstinent subjects, as compared with continuing smokers, had a greater decline from baseline in WBC count (1.2 x 109/L versus 0.1 x 109/L, p&lt;0.001) and ANC (0.1 x 109/L versus 0.2 x 109/L, p&lt;0.001). CONCLUSION: The WBC count and ANC of healthy smokers increase with increasing tobacco exposure. Biochemically-confirmed tobacco abstinence leads to a rapid and sustained decrease in WBC count and ANC, possibly reflecting a decrease in an underlying state of tobacco-induced inflammation.


2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Leland Albright ◽  
Susan S. Ferson ◽  
Humphrey Okechi

Object The authors undertook this study to determine white blood cell (WBC) counts in CSF obtained from lateral ventricles and myelomeningoceles (MMCs) in infants in a developing country at the time of their initial presentation for medical evaluation. Methods CSF was aspirated from the lateral ventricles and from MMC sacs of 100 consecutive infants at Kijabe Hospital, Kijabe, Kenya. Peripheral blood WBC counts and CSF WBC counts were determined in the laboratory. CSF with WBC counts of 5 cells/mm3 or greater was cultured. Results The mean WBC count in ventricular CSF was 16 cells/mm3, with a median and mode of 0 cells/mm3. The mean WBC count of CSF in MMC sacs was 141 cells/mm3 (median 15 cells/mm3). No child had both a positive culture from ventricular CSF and a negative culture from MMC CSF. There was no correlation between age at presentation and WBC counts in the MMCs. Infants younger than 8 days old were as likely to have high WBC counts in CSF from their MMC sacs as were older children; 7 of 12 infants with 500 WBCs or more in CSF from their MMCs were younger than 8 days old. Only 5 of 58 CSF specimens from MMC sacs with 5 or more WBCs/mm3 had positive bacterial cultures, which may be a reflection of CSF specimen processing rather than of true culture negativity. Conclusions CSF from ventricular fluid of infants presenting with MMCs infrequently has high WBC counts, so infrequently that it does not need to be evaluated routinely. CSF in MMC sacs often has high WBC counts that suggest the presence of bacterial infection. In developing countries where culture reliability is questionable, intravenous administration of antibiotics before MMC closure for infants with high MMC WBC counts may diminish postoperative meningitis/ventriculitis.


Angiology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 000331972110211
Author(s):  
Buyun Jia ◽  
Chongfei Jiang ◽  
Yun Song ◽  
Chenfangyuan Duan ◽  
Lishun Liu ◽  
...  

Increased arterial stiffness is highly prevalent in patients with hypertension and is associated with cardiovascular (CV) risk. Increased white blood cell (WBC) counts may also be an independent risk factor for arterial stiffness and CV events. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between differential WBC counts and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) in hypertensive adults. A total of 14 390 participants were included in the final analysis. A multivariate linear regression model was applied for the correlation analysis of WBC count and baPWV. Higher WBC counts were associated with a greater baPWV: adjusted β = 10 (95% CI, 8-13, P < .001). The same significant association was also found when WBC count was assessed as categories or quartiles. In addition, the effect of differential WBC subtypes, including neutrophil count and lymphocyte count on baPWV, showed the similar results. These findings showed that baPWV has positive associations with differential WBC counts in hypertensive adults.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ademola Olusegun Talabi ◽  
Tewogbade Adeoye Adedeji ◽  
Oludayo Adedapo Sowande ◽  
Olusanya Adejuyigbe

Abstract Background The diagnosis of acute appendicitis in children is quite challenging as the rate of negative appendectomy varies between 15 and 57%. Increased utilization of imaging diagnostic facilities in advanced countries seems to have reduced the incidence of operating on normal appendix to a single digit. In low- and middle-income countries, the incidence remains unacceptably high (double digits). Inflammatory markers and scoring systems may be a suitable adjunct to increase diagnostic yield in most third world countries. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of Alvarado score, white blood cell count, and serum C-reactive protein in children with acute appendicitis. Results The ages of patients ranged between 4 and 15 years with a mean of 11.2 ± 2.8 years. The male to female ratio was 1.4 to 1.0. Nineteen percent of patients had negative appendiceal findings on histological examination. The sensitivity and specificity of Alvarado score, C-reactive protein estimation, total white blood cell count in diagnosing acute appendicitis were 86.4% and 63.2%, 98.8% and 36.8%, and 51.9% and 89.5% respectively. Alvarado score has the highest area under ROC curve analysis 0.824, 95% CI of 0.724 to 0.924 compared with CRP, 0.769. 95% CI of = 0.647 to 0.891 and WBC count, 0.765, 95% CI of 0.643 to 0.887. Both CRP and WBC count showed higher discriminatory values between complicated and uncomplicated appendicitis, p < 0.001. Conclusion Alvarado score outperformed other tests in setting the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. However, none of the tests can be relied on wholly for operative decision. Clinical judgement remains the bedrock for diagnosis and operative management.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-306
Author(s):  
James K. Todd

In the 1970s it became axiomatic that a manuscript discussing the value of the white blood cell (WBC) count and differential would be an object lesson in flawed study design and inaccurate interpretation of prior literature. Somehow I always seem to get dragged into the argument with the mistaken impression that I feel, as misquoted by Dr Karniski, that a "CBC could accurately distinguish between any child with bacteremia and a child with a viral illness."


2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. e82-e90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benie T Constantino ◽  
Gilbert Keith Q Rivera

Abstract Nucleated red blood cells (RBCs) are normally observed in the peripheral blood of neonates and during pregnancy. Under other conditions, the presence of nucleated RBCs in circulating blood indicates disorder in the blood-producing mechanism. The increased presence of nucleated RBCs, however, falsely elevates the leukocyte count, as measured by most automated hematology analyzers, warranting a manual correction of the leukocyte count. For a long time, cutoff values for correcting white blood cell (WBC) count for the presence of nucleated RBCs have been used regularly, particularly in developing countries. However, because those values are largely subjective, they can vary widely between laboratories worldwide. These varied cutoff values include 1, 5, 10, 20, and 50; it appears that the numbers 5 and 10 are the most common values used in corrections; the reasons require further elucidation. In this article, we discuss the merits of correcting the WBC count for nucleated RBCs at certain cutoff points.


Author(s):  
Masafumi Ono ◽  
Mariusz Tomaniak ◽  
Wolfgang Koenig ◽  
Ramzi Khamis ◽  
Ranil de Silva ◽  
...  

Abstract Aims The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of ticagrelor monotherapy in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) stratified according to the baseline white blood cell (WBC) count. Methods and results This is a post hoc analysis of the GLOBAL LEADERS trial, a multi-centre, open-label, randomized all-comer trial in patients undergoing PCI, comparing the experimental strategy (23-month ticagrelor monotherapy following 1-month dual anti-platelet therapy [DAPT]) with the reference strategy (12-month aspirin monotherapy following 12-month DAPT). Patients were stratified into two WBC groups, either &lt; or ≥median WBC count of 7.8 × 109 cells/L (lower or higher WBC group, respectively). The primary endpoint was a composite of all-cause mortality or new Q-wave myocardial infarction at 2 years. Of 14 576 patients included in the present study, 7212 patients (49.5%) were classified as the lower WBC group, who had a significantly lower risk of both ischaemic and bleeding outcomes at 2 years. At 2 years, the experimental strategy was associated with a significant lower incidence of the primary endpoint compared with the reference strategy in the lower WBC group [2.8% vs. 4.2%; hazard ratio (HR): 0.67; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.52–0.86] but not in the higher WBC group (4.8% vs. 4.7%; HR: 1.01; 95% CI: 0.82–1.25; Pinteraction=0.013). There were no significant differences in the risks of Bleeding Academic Research Consortium type 3 or 5 bleeding between two anti-platelet strategies regardless of the WBC groups. Conclusion Increased WBC counts, which may reflect degree of inflammation, at the time of index procedure may attenuate the anti-ischaemic benefits of ticagrelor monotherapy observed in patients with lower WBC counts.


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