What does “monocytes are elevated” mean: normal, possible causes and treatment

There are different types of cells in the blood. One of them are monocytes. These are large cells that literally absorb bacteria, damaged structures of their own body and destroy them. An increase in the level of monocytes is a normal reaction of the body during an infectious disease or inflammatory process. But often an excess of monocytes can also indicate pathology. To reliably establish the cause, it is necessary to carry out appropriate diagnostics.

What are monocytes in the blood

Monocytes are a type of leukocyte - white blood cells. These are large formations with large nuclei. They are involved in protecting the body from inflammatory processes. Monocytes can penetrate the walls of blood vessels, leaving the blood and rushing to the site of inflammation. They destroy bacteria, viruses, as well as dead cells of their own body. It turns out that monocytes perform an important sanitary function.

This is especially important during infectious diseases. For example, if a person is sick with the flu, at this moment many cells of the oropharynx and nasal cavity are destroyed. Then monocytes will arrive in large numbers to the appropriate areas and digest the dead parts of the cells. In this case, the tissues will recover faster, which will contribute to overall recovery.

Symptoms of decreased monocytes in patients with aplastic anemia

With aplastic anemia, patients experience a sharp depression of the hematopoietic function of the bone marrow, accompanied by a powerful inhibition or complete cessation of blood cell growth processes.

The analyzes note a sharp decrease in the number of leukocyte and platelet cells, as well as severe anemia.

Symptoms of the disease are manifested by severe dizziness, a pronounced decrease in performance, pallor and yellowness of the skin, increased heart rate, the appearance of a heart murmur, heart rhythm disturbances, severe shortness of breath, poor exercise tolerance, hemorrhagic symptoms (the appearance of petechiae, bleeding, an increase in the volume and duration of menstrual periods). bleeding, prolongation of bleeding time from scratches and wounds, etc.).

There is also a sharp suppression of immunity and an increase in the incidence of infectious diseases (usually of fungal or bacterial origin).

What does it mean if monocytes are elevated?

In a normal state, the number of monocytes in the blood is as follows (per 1 liter of blood):

• for adults: from 0.04 to 0.08*109 cell units;
• for children: from 0.05 to 1.1 * 109 cell units.

If we talk about the norm in relative terms, then the number of monocytes should be 1% -10% of the total mass of leukocytes. Moreover, for children the optimal range is from 2% to 7%, and for adults – from 1% to 8%. If the concentration is greater than the specified values, this indicates increased monocytes in the blood. This disorder is called monocytosis.

Causes of low monocytes

There are many reasons that lead to a decrease in monocyte levels. These could be viral infections, autoimmune diseases and even oncology. A sharp drop in their numbers is always observed in people undergoing chemotherapy, since chemotherapy drugs are aimed at suppressing the activity of the immune system.

Common reasons

Common reasons include:

• Burns and other severe injuries.
• Rehabilitation period after surgery.
• Cancer, cancer therapy.
• Chronic stress leads to constriction of the blood vessels supplying the bone marrow, which negatively affects the proliferation of all blood cells.
• Cushing's syndrome, in which the adrenal glands produce excessive amounts of hormones.
• Long-term therapy with glucocorticosteroids.
• Aplastic anemia, in which the bone marrow does not work properly.
• Inflammatory process in the body.
• Severe viral or bacterial infection.
• Physical exhaustion.
• Decreased immunity.

If the monocyte level approaches zero, there is a serious threat to life: the patient develops acute leukemia or sepsis. The body will not be able to cope with these diseases on its own.

In men

The following reasons lead to a decrease in monocyte levels in men:

• Stress.
• Therapy with cytostatics or corticosteroids.
• Starvation.
• HIV or developing AIDS.
• Bone marrow disorders.
• SCV.
• Intestinal inflammation.
• B12 deficiency anemia.
• Rheumatoid arthritis.
• Blood cancer.
• Epstein-Barr virus.
• Pain shock.

Among women

A drop in the level of monocytes in the blood of women is observed during pregnancy. This can be caused by decreased immunity or folic acid deficiency.

If the disease was detected in a woman who is not pregnant, she needs to consult a gynecologist. It is possible that the reason for the deviation in the tests is a sexually transmitted infection.

The main reasons for the increase in monocytes in the blood

The main causes of monocytosis include:

1. Infectious processes of bacterial origin, including syphilis, brucellosis, tuberculosis, endocarditis.
2. Viral infections – hepatitis, mononucleosis.
3. Diseases of the hematopoietic organs - leukemia.
4. Malignant tumors.
5. Rheumatism.
6. Systemic lupus erythematosus.
7. Recovery from infectious diseases.
8. Previous surgical interventions.
9. Entry of non-infectious substances (mainly through the lungs).

Important!

An increased level of monocytes does not always indicate a disorder. In some cases, this is a normal physiological state, for example, after eating, at the end of the menstrual cycle, and also in children under 7 years of age.

Symptoms of monocytopenia

Monocytopenia itself does not cause any symptoms, since this condition is not a separate disease. Therefore, the signs of monocytopenia must be considered through the prism of the pathology that provoked it.

During purulent-inflammatory processes, a person’s body temperature rises and chills develop. As a rule, patients are lethargic and complain of headaches and weakness. Appetite often worsens, bowel function suffers, and protein appears in the urine. Local symptoms of inflammation are determined by the stage of development of the pathological process and the location of its localization. Classic signs of such a reaction include redness, swelling, pain, fever and disruption of the functioning of one or another organ.

The leukemia clinic is as follows:

• Hemorrhages in the skin and mucous membranes.
• Marked weakness.
• High body temperature.
• Nausea and vomiting.
• Hypertrophy.
• Immunodeficiency, which often leads to the development of pneumonia and sepsis.

Aplastic anemia, accompanied by monocytopenia, is manifested by the following symptoms:

• Decreased performance.
• Increased weakness.
• Paleness of the skin.
• Frequent dizziness.
• Increased heart rate.
• Bleeding gums, internal hidden bleeding.
• Decrease in the body's defenses.
• Frequent infectious diseases that are very difficult to cure.

Monocytosis in children

An increase in monocytes in childhood is also often associated with infectious pathologies, mainly of a viral nature. If monocytosis is diagnosed based on a blood test, this means that the body is actively fighting disease-causing processes.

Also, a similar condition is observed with helminthic lesions - enterobiasis, ascariasis and others. After the destruction of helminths, the content of monocytes returns to normal. The cause may also be associated with tuberculosis, but such pathologies are rare. Monocytosis can be observed due to oncological processes. The most common are leukemia and lymphogranulomatosis.

Other common reasons:

• poisoning;
• allergic reactions;
• inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract;
• autoimmune pathologies;
• rheumatoid type arthritis;
• Crohn's disease;
• infections due to surgical interventions.

Correction

Drug therapy

Monocytopenia itself may not require any treatment, such as in the case of chronic use of glucocorticoids. It is necessary to treat the underlying pathology, against which monocytopenia occurred. Since the etiology of a decrease in the number of monocytes is quite severe diseases, during treatment the patient should be in a hospital under the supervision of a doctor. The following methods of conservative therapy are used:

• Antibacterial therapy.
  For purulent-septic processes, antibiotics from the group of penicillins, cephalosporins or aminoglycosides are prescribed. For rickettsial infections and typhoid fever, preference is given to fluoroquinolones, tetracyclines or macrolides.
• Chemotherapy.
  In order to eliminate the tumor clone and achieve remission in HCL, nucleoside analogues are used. Cytostatic drugs are used in patients with aplastic anemia.
• Hematopoiesis stimulants.
  To activate hematopoietic processes, AA patients are prescribed colony-stimulating factors, stimulators of platelet and erythrocyte formation.
• Genetically engineered biological products.
  Also, monoclonal antibodies against the CD 52 lymphocyte antigen and antithymocyte globulin obtained by immunizing animals with human lymphocytes are very effective for the treatment of AA.
• Blood transfusions.
  Patients with hematological diseases are often prescribed transfusions of whole blood or its components - red blood cells, platelet concentrate.

Surgery

For patients with abscesses and phlegmon, the purulent focus is opened and drained. In cases of severe splenomegaly, the spleen is removed. Since after splenectomy the risk of infection with certain bacterial infections increases, people who have undergone this operation must be vaccinated against pneumococcus, meningococcus, and Haemophilus influenzae.

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation allows for complete cure for AA and HCL. However, given the risk of developing a life-threatening graft-versus-host reaction, this operation is not prescribed for all patients, but only for clear indications. Bone marrow transplantation is also performed in patients with GATA 2 deficiency.

Symptoms of monocytosis

An increased content of monocytes can be reliably determined only by the results of a blood test. In this case, the disorder manifests itself with certain symptoms:

• apathy, decreased or lack of appetite;
• weight loss for no specific reason;
• high fatigue, general weakness of the body without an objective reason;
• depression;
• high level of anxiety, even panic states;
• emotional overexcitation for no specific reason;
• aversion to meat, aversion to it (occurs suddenly);
• bloating;
• constipation;
• diarrhea;
• discharge of large volumes of mucus with feces;
• dry cough that lasts for a long time (sometimes with blood discharge);
• muscle pain in the back area;
• pain in the legs;
• skin rash;
• rash in the genital area.

Symptoms and signs of low monocytes in adults

Monocytopenia is only a symptom of a certain disease

A deficiency in the number of monocytes cannot be determined by external signs or certain manifestations of disorders in the body. However, frequent illnesses, reduced immunity and slow regeneration of skin lesions may signal that there is a reason to consult a doctor with these symptoms and donate blood from a finger prick for analysis.