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Hello, I Am Trying To Find The Cause Of My

Posted on Sun, 17 Mar 2019

Question: Hello, I am trying to find the cause of my mother's illness. We have tried with many doctor's but they all say she is ok but she isn't. I am here in Peru and it difficult to find a good doctor. After many exams we believe she may have a blood disorder but we are not sure which. She is so weak she cannot leave her house.
On thursday she will have blood work done but I want to know the following:
What blood works exams should she have in order to see if she was a blood disorder like leukemia?
We believe it may be leukemia so we want to do a comprehensive blood exam which will help us know if it leukemia.
Remember she doesn't want to leave the house so its very hard to take her to a doctor but she accepted the blood work.
Please help me do all possible blood work that would give us a hint of what she may have in the blood.
By the way she had a tyroid, liver and vitamin blood work which came all ok and she does not have diabetes or suffer from any other known disorder.

Answered by Dr. Shailja Puri (51 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Complete blood count and peripheral blood smear examination will be of help

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query on HealthcareMagic.
The blood work which you can undertake to know about all parameters in blood, namely, red blood cell (RBC) disorder, white blood cell (WBC) disorder or platelet disorder is complete blood count (CBC) and peripheral blood smear (PBS) examination.

Leukemia is a malignancy of white blood cells.
The symptoms of leukemia are tiredness, weakness, enlarged lymph nodes, decreased appetite, lethargy and repeated infections.
If there are any of these symptoms, you should go for complete blood count and peripheral blood smear examination.

If you have any other query, I will be glad to answer.

Thanks and take care
Dr Shailja Puri

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T

Follow up: Dr. Shailja Puri (17 hours later)

I ordered the exams for tomorrow in the morning. They will take her blood tomorrow. Once I have the results can I forward them to you? I also have 3 complete blood works from my mother that I've taken during the last month. Do you want them? I hope you can help me. Thank you and I appreciate your time very much.
I am uploading the previos exams now in which she had infections which she has received 7 days of antibiotics.
She has been without antibiotics for 5 days and the exams I am ordering for tomorrow are CBC, PBS, Iron Blood Count and a Urine Culture.
If there is something to add I still have time.
Thank you for your help.

Answered by Dr. Shailja Puri (6 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Yes, you can post the blood reports once done.

Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome again,

Yes, please feel free to post the complete blood count for further assessment.

The blood reports of mother posted by you show an increased number of white blood cells and differential shows elevated neutrophils.
Elevated neutrophils indicate a bacterial infection.

I'd also suggest you consult your primary health care provider for clinical assessment to look for the cause of infection.

Thanks and take care
Dr. Shailja Puri

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee

Follow up: Dr. Shailja Puri (2 days later)

Hello Dr. Shailja Puri. We did the exams you suggested. I am attaching the latest exam. The translation in English of the Peripheral Blood Smear is the following:

"Normocytic and normochromic erythrocytes. Leukocytes present mild neutrophilia. Some neutrophils with toxic granulations are observed.
Platelets in normal quantity. Aggregated platelets and macro platelets are observed."

She is still very weak. What could all this mean? Any theories?
We would appreciate your help.

Answered by Dr. Shailja Puri (3 days later)

Brief Answer:
Hello and welcome again.

Detailed Answer:
The blood report shows increase in white blood cells and increased neutrophils and shift to left. This is suggestive of bacterial infection. Red blood cells and platelets are within normal biological interval.

Thanks and take care
Dr. Shailja Puri

Note: Do you have more questions on diagnosis or treatment of blood disorders? Ask An Expert/ Specialist Now

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vaishalee Punj