Should children with high white blood cell count use penicillin?

Whether a child with high white blood cell count needs to use penicillin depends on the baby's physical condition. In most cases, the main cause of high white blood cell count in babies is bacterial infection, which generally requires symptomatic anti-infection treatment. Other antibiotics can be used for treatment, but it is recommended that the baby must pay attention to personal hygiene, actively receive treatment, and keep the baby warm at ordinary times.

1. What is the reason for high white blood cell count in children?

When children fall ill, a common medical examination result is an elevated white blood cell count. This result is mostly caused by infections in various parts of the body. For example, respiratory tract infections can cause an increase in white blood cells.

An increase in white blood cell count indicates a bacterial infection in the body. Children's infections are mostly respiratory or digestive tract infections. Check the child's respiratory tract, such as whether the nose is unobstructed, whether the throat is painful, or there is a cough. Check whether the baby has headaches, digestive tract symptoms, abdominal pain, anorexia, constipation or diarrhea, bloating, etc. If you observe carefully, it is not difficult to find the problem. The doctor will make corresponding treatment based on the test results and physical signs. Bacterial infections can be treated with appropriate antibiotics. Children generally recover quickly after corresponding treatment.

2. Treatment of high white blood cell count

The first step is general treatment. Those with high fever in the acute phase should rest in bed and be encouraged to drink plenty of water and urinate frequently to promote the rapid excretion of bacteria and inflammatory exudates.

The second is to use antibacterial drugs for treatment, usually anti-Gram-negative bacteria drugs, such as 2 tablets of co-trimoxazole, taken orally twice a day; 0.1g of furazolidone, taken orally 3 times a day; 1.0g of sulfamethoxazole, taken orally twice a day; 0.25~0.5g of cephalosporin VI, taken 4 times a day, and 0.2g of norfloxacin, taken 3 times a day.

For patients with high body temperature and obvious systemic symptoms, gentamicin 80,000 U can be used, twice a day, intramuscularly; ampicillin 50-100 mg/kg can be taken orally or intramuscularly in 4 doses. For patients infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus, carbenicillin or sulfobenzylpenicillin can be used.

3. How to prevent leukocytosis

Avoid catching a cold, because a cold can cause white blood cell abnormalities and increase the chance of getting sick. If a fever is accompanied by an increase in white blood cells or neutrophil count and the phenomenon of "nuclear left shift", it is a significant feature of judging a purulent bacterial infection. Prevent infection, as pathological increase in white blood cells is caused by infection, such as acute infection, severe trauma, acute bleeding, acute poisoning, leukemia, malignant tumors, etc. Be cautious with certain drugs that cause leukocytosis, such as certain antibiotics and catecholamines.

Symptoms of high white blood cell count

1. Vital signs. Particular attention should be paid to checking for fever or hypothermia suggestive of infection or sepsis. Fever may also indicate the possibility of a tumor, tissue infarction, or connective tissue disease (see Fever). Hypotension may occur concurrently with sepsis.

2. Altered mental status, confusion, seizures, and focal abnormal deep tendon reflexes can be seen in many conditions that cause an increase in white blood cells, including meningitis (infectious or neoplastic), sepsis, leukemia, lymphoma, and solid tumors.

What is the cause of high white blood cell count in children?

3. Tachycardia is consistent with an acute stress response. A new murmur, particularly if fever is present, suggests bacterial endocarditis. Look for evidence of volume overload, which is sometimes triggered by infection or associated with leukemia or myeloproliferative disorders.

4. Examine palpable lymph nodes and note their properties. Tender lymph nodes are usually associated with infection. Firm and diffuse swelling is most common in lymphoproliferative disorders such as lymphoma. Hard, fixed, localized lymph nodes suggest the possibility of malignancy.

5. Rales during inspiration indicate pneumonia. Decreased breath sounds and dullness to percussion suggest a pleural effusion or empyema. A pleural friction rub may accompany infection, malignancy, or other conditions such as thromboembolism and SLE.