Low neutrophils, Hydroxycarbamine, Coronavirus and teaching?

[Charlieapple2018]

I saw my Haematologist this morning and Hydroxycarbamine has had the right effect on my platelets they are down to 298, but it’s knocked my neutrophils which are down to 1.8, this make me quite immunosuppressaned. I work in a SEND school. Should I be self isolating? Your opinions and thoughts would be gratefully received.

[Uzza]

Yes.

[Paul123456]

I’ve overshot as well and my Neutrophils are down to 0.83.

My Hem says must get over 1 and preferably over 1.5.

Hence I am isolating and taking Pegasys holiday

I hope good news in that we are responding well to our meds, just too well!

[beetle]

Mine hovers around 0.5-0.7 nearly all the time. Hence I am pretty scared. Especially as the delivery service from all local supermarkets is fully booked for next 3 weeks. What are we supposed to do?

[hunter5582]

While it varies from lab to lab, the normal range I see for neutrophils is 1.56 - 6.13. How are your other leukocytes? Immune response is complex and involves more than one factor, so looking at the whole range is important to assess risk. If you did get an infection, a spike in leukocytes would be predicted as your body reacts to the infection. HU would be expected to suppress this response as it interferes with all hematopoiesis. That may be cause for concern even if your neutrophils are in the low-normal range. Perhaps your doctor can give you a better explanation of your individual risk based on your profile. If you do get an answer, please share the information so we can all gain a better understanding.

[Charlieapple2018 in reply to hunter5582]

Thanks for the information. I think my haematologist panicked me a bit by saying my neutrophils are low, but she didn’t really give me context as to what kind of low they were. I don’t know the detail, so can’t answer about leukocytes.

Ultimately I’ve made the decision for myself. The government guidelines put blood cancer in the high risk category. I am aware ET is quite low impact blood cancer but the wording doesn’t exclude our condition.

I am also supporting my mother who is 75, has a type of heart failure and recently had her knee replaced so we are trying to avoid the virus and not be a burden on the NHS if we can avoid it.

I’m working from home for the duration until we’re given the all clear.

[hunter5582 in reply to Charlieapple2018]

Suggest you always get a hard copy of all of your labs, particularly if you do not have access to a patient portal to look them up. I can't remember all my numbers from any CBC, so I always keep my own records.

It certainly makes sense to be cautious regarding exposure in your situation. While you would likely recover from the virus, your Mom would be more challenged. Hope you both stay well.