What Could Have Contributed To The Elevated WBC?

Posted on Tue, 8 Oct 2024

Question: Hi I am enquiring on behalf of my partner. He had a blood test done in 2016 and WBC was slightly elevated. He had them done again in 2019 where they were slightly elevated again. Now, in 2022 he has recently had them done where they were again a little elevated (10.3). He had them repeated and WBC is now 13,000. He experiences often fatigue and frequent sweats (though not severe). I am wondering what the chances of CML (or other leukaemia) is? He got a new tattoo a couple of days before the most recent blood test. Could this contribute to the high WBC? Would CML likely be higher than 13 if caused by something serious? All other bloods are normal. Thank you.

Answered by Dr. Shailja Puri (7 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Suggest you to get repeat CBC and PBS for further management

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
High white blood cell count does not necessarily suggest CML or any other malignancy.
I suggest you to get a repeat complete blood count along with peripheral blood smear (PBS) examination.
Kindly, post your reports after getting CBC and PBS done for further assessment.

Thanks and take care
Dr Shailja Puri

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Saisudha Kotla