Nancy Berliner

Chronic idiopathic neutropenia What every physician needs to know: Chronic idiopathic neutropenia in adults (CINA) describes a heterogeneous group of disorders associated with a decreased number of circulating neutrophils. Although there is some variability, in most studies neutropenia is defined as an absolute neutrophil count (ANC) of less than 1,500/μl. The etiology of CINA is…

Constitutional/ethnic neutropenia What every physician needs to know about constitutional neutropenia: Constitutional neutropenia is defined as an absolute neutrophil count (ANC) less than 1,500 in an otherwise healthy individual. As it is often seen in specific ethnic groups, that is, African populations, Yemenite Jews, and Arab populations, it is often termed ethnic neutropenia. Most individuals…

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (hemophagocytic syndrome) What every physician needs to know: Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a clinical syndrome characterized by uncontrolled hyper-activation of the immune response, leading to a severe systemic illness with organ dysfunction. HLH may be a primary, that is, familial disorder, or it may develop secondary to another disorder such as an infection,…