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What Causes Elevated WBC Count When Diagnosed With H. Pylori Infection?

Posted on Mon, 21 May 2018

Question: Dear doctors I’m super worried . I went for a physical exam and found out my wbc are a little to high than Normal at 12.13 reference range is 3.66-11.99.
Also my patelletes were low at 111 range 144-400
This was last Monday and just Sunday I was in bed all day with fever and chills only for one day .
Now my platelets were 140 on my previous physical exam .

My Dr seems worried now and sent me to a hematologist .

4 months ago a was also diagnosed with h pylori bacteria .

Please share your thought

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (43 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
it's probably due to an infection

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

please correct me if my understanding of your situation is not right. You said you had fever on Sunday and did a blood count on the next day (Monday) and the WBC were elevated and your platelets a little lower than normal. If this is the case then I don't see anything worrisome. The WBC may rise during the course of infections (taking into account that the most common cause of fever for a young man is an infectious disease) and the platelets may be a little lower sometimes. A repeat measurement is recommended though.

Helicobacter pylori does not seem relevant in your case.

I hope you find my comments helpful!
Kind Regards!

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

Follow up: Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (12 minutes later)

Just to add something I have bleeding gums when I brush my teeth but I had that my entire life , I also had been stressing out lately over some personal problems .
The reason I’m super worried is because when I search high WBC and low platelets all comes up is leukemia .
I’m just super worried now . In fact my doctor order more tests I went for blood drawn on Thursday .
Could this still reflect high wbc from last Sunday cold flu fever and chills . I live in NY

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (7 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
the microscopic examination may provide more clues

Detailed Answer:
If I described the timeline of the events accurately then the high WBC count is not worrisome. A microscopic examination of the blood may provide additional clues though. WBC with normal appearance would be very much against the diagnosis of a blood disorder.

Leukemia is possible with high WBC counts but in your case the count is not high enough to suggest leukemia. Patients with some types of leukemia typically have 50,000 WBC/microL and they usually have high platelet counts too. On the contrary acute leukemia is usually associated with low WBC counts.

Regarding your bleeding gums you should check them with your dentist. Since this has been going on for your entire life, I don't see anything worrisome there either.

I wouldn't be 'super worried' with the above findings but a repeat measurement is recommended...

Kind regards!

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

Follow up: Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (44 hours later)

Dear Dr Panagiotis . Thank you for answering my questions and yes in fact you had the timeline correctly . My recent results came back today the blood was drawn on Thursday and all my counts are normal .
Even my platelets is at 156 range 144-400 . And my wbc is 8.58 range 3.66-11.99 .

Thank you so much for your expertise . Do you think I should still see a blood disorder specialist?

Thanks again .

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (10 hours later)

Brief Answer:
No hematologist

Detailed Answer:
I don't believe that a hematologist is required. Just make sure they checked your blood cells under microscope. Even if they didn't I wouldn't worry much if at all. The infection is a perfect explanation for the findings.

Kind Regards!

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