Meanwhile, several subtypes of neutropenia exist which are rarer and chronic, including acquired (idiopathic) neutropenia, cyclic neutropenia, autoimmune neutropenia, and congenital neutropenia.Neutropenia that is developed in response to chemotherapy typically becomes evident in seven to fourteen days after treatment, this period is known as the Nadir. Conditions that indicate the presence of neutropenic fever are implanted devices; leukemia induction; the compromise of mucosal, mucociliary and cutaneous barriers; a rapid decline in absolute neutrophil count, duration of neutropenia >7–10 days, and other illnesses that exist in the patient.Signs of infection can be subtle. Fevers are a common and early observation. Sometimes overlooked is the presence of hypothermia, which can be present in sepsis. Physical examination and accessing the history and physical examination is focused on sites of infection. Indwelling line sites, areas of skin breakdown, sinuses, nasopharynx, bronchi and lungs, alimentary tract, and skin are assessed.The diagnosis of neutropenia is done via the low neutrophil count detection on a complete blood count. Generally, other investigations are required to arrive at the right diagnosis. When the diagnosis is uncertain, or serious causes are suspected, bone marrow biopsy may be necessary. A bone marrow biopsy can identify abnormalities in myelopoesis contributing to neutropenia such as the stage of arrest in the development of myeloid progenitor cells. Bone marrow biopsies can also be used to monitor the development of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) or acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in patients with chronic neutropenia (especially in those with severe congenital neutropenia (SCN) which carries a higher risk of MDS and AML)).
Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX) may be used in those with allergies to first-line agents or in infants who have a risk of pyloric stenosis from macrolides.A reasonable guideline is to treat people age >1 year within 3 weeks of cough onset and infants age <1 year and pregnant women within 6 weeks of cough onset. If the person is diagnosed late, antibiotics will not alter the course of the illness, and even without antibiotics, they should no longer be spreading pertussis. When used early, antibiotics decrease the duration of infectiousness, and thus prevent spread. Short-term antibiotics (azithromycin for 3–5 days) are as effective as long-term treatment (erythromycin 10–14 days) in eliminating B. pertussis with fewer and less severe side effects.People with pertussis are most infectious during the first two weeks following the onset of symptoms.Effective treatments of the cough associated with this condition have not been developed. The use of over the counter cough medications is discouraged and has not been found helpful. Prognosis
While most healthy older children and adults fully recover, infection in newborns is particularly severe. Pertussis is fatal in an estimated 0.5% of US infants under one year of age. First-year infants are also more likely to develop complications, such as: apneas (31%), pneumonia (12%), seizures (0.6%) and encephalopathy (0.15%). This may be due to the ability of the bacterium to suppress the immune system. Epidemiology
Worldwide, whooping cough affects around 16 million people yearly. One estimate for 2013 stated it resulted in about 61,000 deaths – down from 138,000 deaths in 1990.