Prolonged pure granulocytopenia in children

In a prospective, population-based study, 31 patients with pure granulocytopenia lasting longer than six months were follow-up for up to 7.3 years after diagnosis. Their ages at diagnosis were 0.3-15.5 (median 0.9) years; 17 of the patients were less than 1 year of age. The lowest granulocyte count measured was 0.00-0.60 (median 0.03) x 10(9)/l. During the granulocytopenia, 12 patients suffered from repeated infections but none was life-threatening. In 21 patients, the granulocyte count normalized spontaneously within 0.5-5.5 (median 1.1) years: the other 10 remain granulocytopenic after follow-up for 2.5-7.3 (median 3.7) years. We conclude that selective granulocytopenia, if associated with unimpaired myelopoiesis, is a benign disorder in children and does not, even if prolonged, significantly increase the risk of severe infections.