decreased lymphocyte in hemothorax pt

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Nov 15, 2010

Can anyone please explain why a pt woth hemothorax would have a decreased lymphocytes? And for those of you who saw my earlier post, yes this is related to that.

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http://lmgtfy.com/?q=decreased+lymphocyte+in+hemothorax+patient

Guest343211 · Nov 15, 2010

Can anyone please explain why a pt woth hemothorax would have a decreased lymphocytes? And for those of you who saw my earlier post, yes this is related to that.

malignancy--such as leukemia

use of corticosteriods

use of chemotherapy

use of radiation tx

Serious infectious diso's like HIV,

In the presence of an autoimmune disorder, such as SLE

The particulars obviously matter.

EricJRN, MSN, RN · Nov 15, 2010

Is it a low absolute lymphocyte count (sometimes listed as lymph # or lymph-Abs), a low relative lymphocyte count (lymph %), or both? Are any of the other types of white cells high or low? If another type of WBC is elevated, that may give you a low relative lymphocyte percentage, even if the absolute number of lymphocytes is normal.

nursingstudent_2012 · Nov 15, 2010

Is it a low absolute lymphocyte count (sometimes listed as lymph # or lymph-Abs), a low relative lymphocyte count (lymph %), or both? Are any of the other types of white cells high or low? If another type of WBC is elevated, that may give you a low relative lymphocyte percentage, even if the absolute number of lymphocytes is normal.

Hi. Thank you for replying. Ahmm....it was actually a low lymph percentage. And his WBC was high. I was thinking, ahm my pt's WBC was elevated which means infection so this was reason why his lymph was low. Coz infection was the problem and lymph are responsible for immune defense. Infection is not exactly a disease right so I was thinking there was really no need for lymph cells to do their thing. Am I right? :confused:

leslie :-D · Nov 15, 2010

Hi. Thank you for replying. Ahmm....it was actually a low lymph percentage. And his WBC was high. I was thinking, ahm my pt's WBC was elevated which means infection so this was reason why his lymph was low. Coz infection was the problem and lymph are responsible for immune defense. Infection is not exactly a disease right so I was thinking there was really no need for lymph cells to do their thing. Am I right?

you're basically on the right track.

my initial response, was that this pt had infection...perhaps even sepsis.

but since you hadn't mentioned any other abnormal labs, i ruled it out.

knowing that his wbc is high, there's your answer.:)

and to show you that i'm not afraid of showing my ignorance, i was even wondering if there was a direct correlation between chest trauma and lymphocytopenia...

in that the chest region has an abundance of lymph nodes, and if trauma could affect its function?

leslie

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Nov 16, 2010

Hi. Thank you for replying. Ahmm....it was actually a low lymph percentage. And his WBC was high. I was thinking, ahm my pt's WBC was elevated which means infection so this was reason why his lymph was low. Coz infection was the problem and lymph are responsible for immune defense. Infection is not exactly a disease right so I was thinking there was really no need for lymph cells to do their thing. Am I right?

Don't forget about the fight flight response as all those WBC's go to fight off infection and an elevation of WBC's because of the inflammatory response alone.