Leukopenia

Leukopenia

● Symptoms and Causes  

There are multiple areas of overlap in the cause of pancytopenia and leukopenia. Cytopenias may be broadly classified as inherited or acquired (Fig. 1). Acquired cyto penias may be transient or chronic. Transient cytopenias are frequently attributable to medications, supplements, or infections and resolve when these are eliminated. Se vere and chronic cytopenias associated with any alarming findings require medical attention and often extensive workup to identify and treat the underlying cause. The inherited disorders, in particular the bone marrow failure disorders, frequently come to attention during childhood but may rarely first present in the young adult. Over the past years, it has also become evident that genetic aberrations identified in pa tients with inherited disorders inform us of similar mechanisms and pathways occur ring in acquired diseases in the adult highlighting common mechanisms. This finding has led to the development of targeted therapies that now in turn provide novel treat ment avenues for the inherited disorders in children. Although a detailed discussion of the inherited disorders is beyond the scope of this review, a short summary of clinical findings and the underlying genetic causes will set the stage for discussion of the ac quired disorders and help the practicing physician know when to suspect these disor ders in young adults and refer the patients to specialists in the field

Onuoha C, Arshad J, Astle J, Xu M, Halene S. Novel Developments in Leukopenia and Pancytopenia. Prim Care. 2016 Dec;43(4):559-573. doi: 10.1016/j.pop.2016.07.005. PMID: 27866577.