Suggest Treatment For Swollen Lymph Nodes On Side Of Clavicle

Posted on Thu, 1 Oct 2015

Question: I've been struggling with anemia for 3 years. It's currently managed with iron but ferritin is dropping and IBC is going up so I was referred to a hematologist to understand why management is not as effective. He ran tests and my WBC came back low at 2.7 as did my monocytes (0.16) and neutrophils (1.5). My platelets are normal at 190 but have decreased from 300 earlier this year. My WBC was 6.0 late last year but dropped to 3.8, 3.7, and now 2.8 throughout this year. I've had several ear infections and a URI that latest over a month in XXXXXXX This week I noticed a swollen lymph node on my left side above the clavicle (not visible but can be felt - about 1-1.5 cm big) and I've had 3 nosebleeds. I go back for repeat bloodwork in 2 weeks. Can I wait till then to have the lymph node looked at or is it more urgent? Other than being very tired and the nosebleeds, nothing else has changed.

Answered by Dr. Indranil Ghosh (19 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Yes you can wait for 2 weeks

Detailed Answer:
Hi
Thanks for your query.

The dropping counts are of concern. And iron deficiency should not persist after 3 years of treatment. Though infections can cause temporary depression of blood counts, it is already 3 months since XXXXXXX Nosebleeds are probably unrelated as platelets of 190 are normal.

As you said that nosebleeds and some tiredness are the only new things. So it can certainly wait for 2 weeks. The lymph node may be a normal reactive node, secondary to all these infections.

Hope this helps. I will be available for follow-up.
Regards

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar