Leukocytosis overview
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Leukocytosis Microchapters |
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Diagnosis |
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Treatment |
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Case Studies |
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Leukocytosis overview On the Web |
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American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Leukocytosis overview |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-In-Chief: Lakshmi Gopalakrishnan, M.B.B.S. [2]
Overview
Leukocytosis is an elevation of the white blood cell count (the leukocyte count) above the normal range. The normal adult human leukocyte count in peripheral blood is 4.4-10.8 x 109/L. A white blood count of 11.0 x 109/L or more suggests leukocytosis. Often, the word refers to an increased neutrophil granulocyte count, as neutrophils are the main granulocytes. An increase in eosinophil granulocyte is known as eosinophilia. Granulocytosis can be a feature of a number of disease processes including infection, especially bacteria; malignancy, most notably leukemia (it is the main feature of chronic myelogenous leukemia, CML) and autoimmune disease. Although it may be a sign of illness, leukocytosis in-and-of itself is not a disorder, nor is it a disease. It is simply a laboratory finding.