Condition Lookup
Category:
Blood Disorders
Number of Conditions: 4
Neutropenic Fever
Specialty: Hematology
Category: Blood Disorders
Symptoms:
fever; chills; signs of infection despite low inflammatory response
Root Cause:
Fever in a patient with neutropenia, usually indicative of an infection despite minimal immune response.
How it's Diagnosed: videos
Clinical evaluation, blood cultures, imaging (e.g., chest X-ray), and ruling out other causes of fever.
Treatment:
Broad-spectrum antibiotics, antifungals, or antivirals; adjustments based on culture results.
Medications:
Broad-spectrum antibiotics (e.g., piperacillin-tazobactam, cefepime ), antifungals (e.g., voriconazole for suspected fungal infections), antivirals (e.g., acyclovir if viral etiology suspected).
Prevalence:
How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Common in chemotherapy patients; up to 50% of patients with neutropenia develop fever.
Risk Factors:
Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Chemotherapy, hematologic malignancies, bone marrow transplantation.
Prognosis:
The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Good with prompt treatment; delayed treatment can lead to severe sepsis and death.
Complications:
Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Sepsis, organ failure, prolonged hospitalization.
Hyperviscosity Syndrome
Specialty: Hematology
Category: Blood Disorders
Symptoms:
blurred vision; headache; dizziness; nosebleeds; easy bruising; fatigue; altered mental status
Root Cause:
Increased blood viscosity due to elevated levels of proteins (e.g., IgM in Waldenström macroglobulinemia), red blood cells, or other components.
How it's Diagnosed: videos
Blood tests (e.g., serum viscosity levels, CBC), clinical symptoms, and testing for underlying disorders like monoclonal gammopathies.
Treatment:
Plasma exchange (plasmapheresis) to reduce viscosity, treatment of the underlying cause (e.g., chemotherapy for plasma cell disorders).
Medications:
Chemotherapy agents (e.g., rituximab for lymphoproliferative disorders), antiplatelet agents like aspirin (to reduce clotting risk).
Prevalence:
How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Rare; associated with specific conditions like Waldenström macroglobulinemia and polycythemia vera.
Risk Factors:
Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Plasma cell dyscrasias, polycythemia vera, multiple myeloma, high serum protein levels.
Prognosis:
The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Depends on the underlying cause; reversible with timely treatment but may lead to severe complications if untreated.
Complications:
Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Retinal vein occlusion, stroke, organ ischemia, and heart failure.
Neutropenia
Specialty: Hematology
Category: Blood Disorders
Symptoms:
frequent infections; fever; mouth sores; gingivitis; skin abscesses
Root Cause:
Low neutrophil count, often caused by bone marrow suppression, autoimmune disorders, infections, or medications.
How it's Diagnosed: videos
CBC with differential, evaluation of bone marrow function, and testing for infections or autoimmune markers.
Treatment:
Treatment of the underlying cause, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), and prophylactic antibiotics for severe cases.
Medications:
G-CSF (e.g., filgrastim to stimulate neutrophil production), prophylactic antibiotics (e.g., ciprofloxacin ), and antifungals (e.g., fluconazole ).
Prevalence:
How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Common as a complication of chemotherapy or certain infections; varies widely based on underlying cause.
Risk Factors:
Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Chemotherapy, autoimmune diseases, congenital conditions, viral infections.
Prognosis:
The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Depends on severity and cause; reversible in many cases but may lead to severe infections if untreated.
Complications:
Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Life-threatening infections, sepsis, organ damage from uncontrolled infection.
Neutrophilia
Specialty: Hematology
Category: Blood Disorders
Symptoms:
fever; fatigue; inflammation; redness or swelling at infection sites; asymptomatic in mild cases
Root Cause:
Elevated neutrophil count due to infections, inflammation, stress, medications, or malignancies such as myeloproliferative disorders.
How it's Diagnosed: videos
CBC with differential, evaluation for infections or inflammatory markers, and tests to rule out underlying hematologic conditions.
Treatment:
Addressing the underlying cause (e.g., treating infection or discontinuing causative medications).
Medications:
None specific to neutrophilia itself; antibiotics for infections, or targeted therapies for hematologic malignancies if present.
Prevalence:
How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Common; occurs in response to infections, stress, or other stimuli.
Risk Factors:
Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Bacterial infections, inflammatory disorders, smoking, corticosteroid use, hematologic disorders.
Prognosis:
The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Excellent when due to reactive causes; variable in cases of underlying malignancy.
Complications:
Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Rare; may indicate serious conditions like leukemia if persistent.