Extreme neutropenia in glandular fever

Abstract

Extreme neutropenia has very rarely been recorded as a complication of glandular fever. Two non-fatal cases, with mild secondary infections, are now reported. Extreme neutropenia may in fact be less rare in this disease than it appears to be, but serious illness as a result is exceedingly unusual.

Heterophile antibody and histiocytic medullary reticulosis

“…James et al (1979) stress the need for a high index of suspicion if HMR is to be diagnosed ante mortem. (Penman 1968) and thrombocytopenia (Sharp 1969) may all occur; thus the pancytopenia in our patient did not exclude 1M although the absolute lymphopenia present (0. I 56 x 10 9 /1) might have done so since Iymphopenic 1M is extremely rare (Barr, Adlard & Thomas 1975).…”

Fatal infectious mononucleosis: a critical review.

“…Extreme granulocytopenia is very rarely recorded in infectious mononucleosis, and serious infection resulting from this complication is even rarer (Penman, 1968). The fatal case described by Worlledge and Dacie (1969) appears to have been almost certainly an example of this sequence of events; sheep cell agglutinins were demonstrated at a titre of 160, with a typical infectious mononucleosis absorption pattern, but full haematological data were not given.…”

Aplastic Anaemia Complicating Infectious Mononucleosis

“…Since the first description of mononucleosis in glandular fever (Turk 1907) various reports of accompanying blood disorders have appeared in the literature. Thrombocytopenia (Minot 1929, Angle & Alt 1950, Bloom et al 1963, Chen et al 1968, haemolytic anaemia (Dameshek 1943, Bert6 1951, Hall & Archer 1953, Appleman & Gordon 1954, Dacie 1955, Jenkins & Marsh 1966 and severe neutropenia (Wechsler et al 1946, Wulff 1965, Carter 1966, Penman 1968) are among the usual haematological complications associated with infectious mononucleosis (I.M.). Earlier authors regarded pancytopenia as a very unusual finding.…”