Hi there.
I’m asking about my son. He’s 13 months old and we’ve stayed right on schedule with all his vaccinations. Up until now, he hasn't been sick or run a fever. He was born three days late and spent a few days under those blue lights in the NICU because of jaundice and high bilirubin. I guess that’s really the only medical hiccup he's had.
We’ve done blood work before every vaccine. Out of four different CBC results, only one showed neutrophils within the normal range; two were below the limit, and the one taken just before his recent MMR shot was the worst. His pediatrician mentioned that the absolute neutrophil count was under 500, which apparently isn't good—though, honestly, the kid didn't seem sick at all. His lymphocytes have always come back high, sitting around 70% on the reports, while his white cell counts have stayed within the normal range.
The doctor recommended a follow-up CBC.
The worst reading looked like this:
WBC 7.1/10*9l. Ref 6-16
Neut 7 % 23-66
Lymph 80 %. 18-60
Fast forward a month—in the meantime, he had the MMR shot and just had a mild temperature of 99.5°F for one day and a rash for another.
WBC 7.8
Neut 17
Lymph 79
Mono 9
The reference ranges are the same.
His liver function looks fine and his hemoglobin is 125, so I suppose the overall blood picture is okay.
Now he also has a blood smear. What does that actually mean? Is that a more reliable way to calculate the neutrophil count?
Lymph 70, neut 26, mono 4
What I really want to know is if my child has neutropenia. Two different pediatricians told me to just come back in a month for another CBC.
So far, nobody is suggesting we see a hematologist.
Is it possible that this kind of neutropenia is just temporary? And I guess... is the child's general behavior enough of an indicator that he's fine and not in any danger?
Is there anything else we should be looking at right now?
Thanks.
I’m asking about my son. He’s 13 months old and we’ve stayed right on schedule with all his vaccinations. Up until now, he hasn't been sick or run a fever. He was born three days late and spent a few days under those blue lights in the NICU because of jaundice and high bilirubin. I guess that’s really the only medical hiccup he's had.
We’ve done blood work before every vaccine. Out of four different CBC results, only one showed neutrophils within the normal range; two were below the limit, and the one taken just before his recent MMR shot was the worst. His pediatrician mentioned that the absolute neutrophil count was under 500, which apparently isn't good—though, honestly, the kid didn't seem sick at all. His lymphocytes have always come back high, sitting around 70% on the reports, while his white cell counts have stayed within the normal range.
The doctor recommended a follow-up CBC.
The worst reading looked like this:
WBC 7.1/10*9l. Ref 6-16
Neut 7 % 23-66
Lymph 80 %. 18-60
Fast forward a month—in the meantime, he had the MMR shot and just had a mild temperature of 99.5°F for one day and a rash for another.
WBC 7.8
Neut 17
Lymph 79
Mono 9
The reference ranges are the same.
His liver function looks fine and his hemoglobin is 125, so I suppose the overall blood picture is okay.
Now he also has a blood smear. What does that actually mean? Is that a more reliable way to calculate the neutrophil count?
Lymph 70, neut 26, mono 4
What I really want to know is if my child has neutropenia. Two different pediatricians told me to just come back in a month for another CBC.
So far, nobody is suggesting we see a hematologist.
Is it possible that this kind of neutropenia is just temporary? And I guess... is the child's general behavior enough of an indicator that he's fine and not in any danger?
Is there anything else we should be looking at right now?
Thanks.