Granulocyte transfusion in treatment of infected neutropenic children

Abstract

Thirty episodes of infection in severely neutropenic children with acute leukaemia and aplastic anaemia resistant to antibiotics were treated with total of 51 granulocyte transfusions collected from normal donors by means of an Aminco continuous flow cell separator. The mean granulocyte increment in the recipients was 820/mm3 at 1 hour and 307/mm3 at 15 hours post-transfusion and it showed a correlation with the number of cells transfused, the size of the child, and his pretransfusion granulocyte count. Fifteen (50%) episodes responded clinically by 24 hours and 23 (77%) by 5 days post-transfusion. Two more children recovered more slowly and 5 died. Poor response was associated with multiple-site infections and with a prolonged period of infection before granulocyte transfusion, but the primary diagnosis did not influence the outcome. We conclude that granulocyte transfusion significantly reduces the mortality and morbidity from infection in neutropenic children with acute leukaemia.