Lympohcytes

[sandslady02]

I am having troubles figuring out what it mean if my pt. has a low lymph. count. It isn't extremely low but at 14%. She is diabetic and has cellulitis but I am not finding an answer as to why her lymphocyte count would be low. Please help. Thanks!!

[Curious1alwys, BSN, RN]

Steroids??

[veggiegarden]

Ooo, we just discussed this in post conference last week! If there isn't another obvious cause like immunodeficiency, one explaination that it could be low is that WBC diff. counts are often expressed as a percentage. So, for example, if your neutrophil % is high, then the lymphocytes would subsequently be low (perhaps abnormally low)--cause it all has to equal 100%. Make sense? When I heard this I was like, doh!

[VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN]

Ooo, we just discussed this in post conference last week! If there isn't another obvious cause like immunodeficiency, one explaination that it could be low is that WBC diff. counts are often expressed as a percentage. So, for example, if your neutrophil % is high, then the lymphocytes would subsequently be low (perhaps abnormally low)--cause it all has to equal 100%. Make sense? When I heard this I was like, doh!

This is true. The most common reason for a low lymphocyte count is an elevation in the number of granulocytes (neutrophils), since these are the predominant white-cell type in a blood sample.

To determine if a person has true lymphocytopenia (low lymphocyte count), calculate the absolute number of lymphocytes. This is done by multiplying the percent of lymphocytes by the total WBC count. If less then 1,000, then this is true lymphocytopenia.

Other possible reasons for decreased lymphocytes: steroid administration; treatment with chemotherapy or radiation; chronic viral infection; Hodgkin's disease; AIDS or immune system dysfunction; and severe, debilitating, wasting-type diseases.