It is normal to have some degenerate neutrophils circulating in the blood.
However, an excess of these cells can be an indication of disease.
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What Are Neutrophils?
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Neutrophils are white blood cells that work to fight infectious organisms and help manage disease.
Normally, healthy neutrophils make up about 40%60% of leukocytes (white blood cells).
Common reasons for high or low neutrophil counts include:
What Are Degenerate Neutrophils?
Your healthcare provider may order a blood smear along with a CBC.
In a blood smear, a slide is prepared, stained, and examined microscopically by a lab professional.
What Does It Mean to Have Many Degenerate Neutrophils?
A large amount of degenerate neutrophils may indicate disease.
They can occur due to a recent infection, in which many neutrophils were present before they degenerated.
This condition is usually short term and will resolve on its own when your body naturally produces more neutrophils.
Sometimes these cells are only present in the affected tissue, not in the blood.
What Should You Do About Degenerate Neutrophils?
Your healthcare provider may do other tests to determine what is going on.
Additional testing is guided by your symptoms, medical history, and a physical examination.
Treatment
Your treatment will be directed toward your illness and not specifically toward correcting your neutrophil count.
As your treatment progresses, your degenerate neutrophils are likely to be replaced with healthy ones.
Often, after treatment, you will have repeat tests to ensure that diagnostic signs of illness are resolving.
It is appropriate to ask your healthcare provider what it might mean.
Often, degenerate neutrophils increase temporarily and will normalize after an infection resolves.
American Cancer Society.Understanding your lab test results.
