Question for someone with medical knowledge

[ElizK]

DD16 had a blood test two weeks ago that confirmed she had mono (EBV Ab VCA, IgG 544), and her white blood count was only 2.3 (normal is 4.0-12.5). The nurse I talked to at her dr's office says that's not unusual with mono, but everything I find on the internet says that her WBC should be slightly elevated from the mono infection. Should I be worried about this? The nurse did say they wanted her to have another blood test in a month or two. Thanks for your help.

 

[RNMOM]

ElizK, I couldn't find a lot of specific information about this but maybe this page can help. This question is best directed at your doctor. Call and ask for them to call you back to discuss this...

http://healthengine.com.au/tests/blood/diff_wcc.html

 

[Carpenters]

I'm not a doctor or anything, but I am a medical technologist--I work in the hospital lab that usually runs these tests. It's true that the WBC is usually elevated with mono, but because it's a viral infection rather than bacterial, you won't always see that elevation of the white count like you would with a bacterial infection. The bigger factor in the diagnosis is the WBC differential, where they count the number of each type of white blood cell. In mono, you usually have an elevation of lymphocytes, and some of those lymphocytes are usually reactive. This just means they are responding to the infection and trying to fight it off. I wouldn't freak out over her white count being slightly below normal while she's fighting off the mono. Make sure your doctor does follow up and repeat the bloodwork down the road, but the nurse was correct in telling you it's not that unusual for the count to be low rather than high.

 

[ElizK]

I'm not a doctor or anything, but I am a medical technologist--I work in the hospital lab that usually runs these tests. It's true that the WBC is usually elevated with mono, but because it's a viral infection rather than bacterial, you won't always see that elevation of the white count like you would with a bacterial infection. The bigger factor in the diagnosis is the WBC differential, where they count the number of each type of white blood cell. In mono, you usually have an elevation of lymphocytes, and some of those lymphocytes are usually reactive. This just means they are responding to the infection and trying to fight it off. I wouldn't freak out over her white count being slightly below normal while she's fighting off the mono. Make sure your doctor does follow up and repeat the bloodwork down the road, but the nurse was correct in telling you it's not that unusual for the count to be low rather than high.

I'll definitely be following up. The stuff I was reading for low WBC is scary!

I've got a copy of the lab report, but I don't know what the WBC differential is. Also, her Neutrophils and Lymphocytes are both low (1.3 and .8) (norms should be between 1.5-7.8 and 1.1 -5.9 respectively).

Thank you for letting me pick your brain!