Relationship Between Absolute Lymphocyte Count in the Adult at 48 Hours, Radiation Dose*,†, and Prognosis
Lowest Absolute Lymphocyte Count (Cells/mL) | Radiation Dose (Gy) | Prognosis |
|---|---|---|
>1500 (normal adults)‡ (> 1.5 × 109/L) | 0.4 | Excellent |
1000–1499 (1–1.499 × 109/L) | 0.5–1.9 | Good |
500–999 (0.5–0.999 × 109/L) | 2.0–3.9 | Fair |
100–499 (0.1–0.499 ×109/L) | 4.0–7.9 | Poor |
< 100 (< 0.1 × 109/L) | 8.0 | Almost always fatal |
* Whole-body irradiation (approximate dose). | ||
† The absolute lymphocyte count dose-response relationship shown in this table can be perturbed by concomitant physical trauma. The stress response to physical trauma is accompanied by a general peripheral blood leukocytosis with various changes in the leukocyte differential and lymphocyte subsets. | ||
‡ Children normally have higher counts that decrease with age from a median of 4600/mL (4.6 × 109/L) at 0–2 years to 3100/mL (3.1 × 109/L) at 2–6 years, and to 2300/mL (2.3 × 109/L) at 7–17 years. | ||
Adapted from Mettler FA Jr, Voelz GL: Major radiation exposure—what to expect and how to respond. New Engl J Med 346:1554–1561, 2002. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra000365 | ||