These comments are made for the purpose of discussion and should NOT be used as recommendations for or against therapies or other treatments. An individual patient is always advised to consult their own physician.
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.
