Can Prednisone Cause Neutropenia?

Posted on Tue, 8 Sep 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 8 Sep 2015 Answered on

Tue, 29 Sep 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : I was seeing a Pulmonologist in 2004. He thought that had Churg Strauss disease because my Eosinophils were really high. 15 and up. He placed me on 40 mg of Prednisone a day for 6 - 9 months.After that I would get sick too often. I wound up in the hospital from migraine headaches, in May of 2013 which caused by non stop throwing up. I
was dehydrated. I am the hospital record for low sodium as it was 103 in the ER. They put me in ICU for 5 days and then moved me to a regular room. They ran Cat scans Pet scans you name it. The discovered that my white blood cell count was only 1.7. It raised to 2.2 or 2.3 but would go no higher. I am now on Neupogen shots, and it is 4.8. My question to you is: could all of that prednisone in 2004 have permantly affected my immune system. Thank You

Answered by Dr. Sassen S Kwasa (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Yes prednisone can cause neutropenia/low blood counts.

Detailed Answer:
Welcome to HCM. Sorry about the medical problems. Prednisone has bad side effects when taken at large doses and long periods. The neutropenia means that you become prone to infections or minor infections will fester into more serious ones. I would mention it to your doctor when you visit on Monday. You also need to ask about your HPA axis/Hypothalamus Pituitary Axis that prednisone could suppress causing adrenal insufficiency and the cause of poor metabolites like sodium and potassium and affect your blood pressure and overall stamina. I hope this helps you out, good luck.

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