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Neutrophils are the primary white blood cells that respond to a bacterial infection, so the most common cause of neutrophilia is a bacterial infection, especially pyogenic infections. [2] Neutrophils are also increased in any acute inflammation, so will be raised after a heart attack, [2] other infarct or burns. [2]
Neutrophils are a type of phagocytic white blood cell and part of innate immunity. More specifically, they form the most abundant type of granulocytes and make up 40% to 70% of all white blood cells in humans. [ 1 ]
Neutropenia is an abnormally low concentration of neutrophils (a type of white blood cell) in the blood. [4] Neutrophils make up the majority of circulating white blood cells and serve as the primary defense against infections by destroying bacteria, bacterial fragments and immunoglobulin-bound viruses in the blood. [5]
Causes Sepsis , bacterial infection, alcohol toxicity, liver failure, G-CSF treatment Toxic vacuolation , also known as toxic vacuolization , [ 1 ] is the formation of vacuoles in the cytoplasm of neutrophils in response to severe infections or inflammatory conditions .
[4] [5] Although normal, mature neutrophils do contain some primary granules, the granules are difficult to identify by light microscopy because they lose their dark blue colour as the cells mature. Toxic granulation thus represents abnormal maturation of neutrophils.
Leukocytosis can be subcategorized by the type of white blood cell that is increased in number. Leukocytosis in which neutrophils are elevated is neutrophilia; leukocytosis in which lymphocyte count is elevated is lymphocytosis; leukocytosis in which monocyte count is elevated is monocytosis; and leukocytosis in which eosinophil count is elevated is eosinophilia.
Conventionally, a leukocytosis exceeding 50,000 WBC/mm 3 with a significant increase in early neutrophil precursors is referred to as a leukemoid reaction. [2] The peripheral blood smear may show myelocytes, metamyelocytes, promyelocytes, and rarely myeloblasts; however, there is a mixture of early mature neutrophil precursors, in contrast to the immature forms typically seen in acute leukemia.
Neutrophilia indicates an elevated count. While many clinicians refer to the presence of neutrophilia as a "left shift", this is imprecise, as a left shift indicates the presence of immature neutrophil forms, [citation needed] but neutrophilia refers to the entire mass of neutrophils, both mature and immature. Neutrophilia can be indicative of: