Neutrophilia and Digoxin
Question: Can digoxin elicit a neutrophilia (WBC 60,000 segs 90%)?

Answer: Neutrophilia, or an increased white blood count, has many causes, including exposure to extreme cold, heat, recent surgery, physical trauma, infection of any type, burns, shocks, tumors, non- infection inflammation, such as gout, arthritis, thyroid problems, and drugs. From your health care provider's stand point, there are essentially 2 groupings of elevated white blood cell counts: reactive and neoplastic(cancerous). Lymphoma, and leukemia are two cancers that can give rise to an elevated count as high as 60,000. Less often reactive causes, such as those listed above are responsible. A major determinant in what is causing the elevation is the "differential", or what specific types of cells are comprising the elevation. You report 90% segmented neutrophils. The other component cells, an evaluation of the appearance of your blood under a microscope, the medications you are on, as well as any other ongoing medical conditions you may be experiencing, will all help to determine the cause of the neutrophilia. There are many medications which can produce a neutrophilia, the most notable being corticosteroid, such as cortisone or one of its derivatives. The Physician's Desk Reference does not list digoxin as being a cause for neutrophilia. Follow-up with your health care provider will be important, so as to recheck you white blood cell counts and establish a trend, as well as determine if additional testing needs to be done, and if referral to a specialist is needed.

Back to Drug InfoNet Home Page.