Evaluation of the Relationship Between Epidemiological Factors and Laboratory Findings With the Cause of Neutropenia in Children: A Cross-Sectional Study

Neutropenia is the absolute count of neutrophils less than 1500 per cubic millimeter. Because the early detection of the cause of neutropenia and appropriate measures to reduce its mortality and financial costs are important, this study was conducted to investigate the relationship between the cause of neutropenia and the severity of neutropenia with clinical and laboratory findings to take appropriate measures.

This study was a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study. In this study, 111 patients with neutropenia were studied in Hazrat Masoumeh Hospital in Qom City, Iran, by a census method in 3 years from 2014 to 2016. Necessary information was obtained from the patients' medical records through a questionnaire. Data were analyzed by SPSS software.

The study findings showed relationships between the cause of the disease and variables of age (P= 0.007), the severity of neutropenia (P<0.001), disease outcome (P<0.001), length of hospital stay (P<0.001), Hb (P<0.001), and WBC (P<0.001). The causes of neutropenia in the studied patients were viral (54.1%), sepsis (24.3%), malignancy (10.8%), anemia (4.5%), idiopathic (3.6%) and ITP (2.7%).

The present study showed a significant relationship between demographic and laboratory findings with the cause and severity of the disease. Therefore, considering these factors at the beginning of hospitalization can play a crucial role in promoting proper management in the treatment of patients with neutropenia.