Pleocytosis ICD-10, Definition, Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, Diagnosis

Naturally there are white blood cells inside the blood of the human body, these cells are also called leucocytes, and these cells are present in order to support the lymphatic system. Collectively these cells are also called lymphocytes. Pleocytosis is said to be an abnormality in which the amount of the lymphocytes increases in the cerebrospinal fluid. In medicine Pleocytosis is called a type of infection or the sign that can affect the nervous system of the human body. Pleocytosis is a kind of neurological disease that can be found responsible for number of other diseases as well.

There is a fixed quantity of the lymphocytes present in the human body, the proportion of the lymphocytes inside the body is important. According to the medical sciences the white blood cells in the body should be quarter of total white blood cells. Patients having the Pleocytosis have more than 1,000 lymphocytes per mm3. However this number should be 5 white blood cells per µL of cerebrospinal fluid. The problem doesn’t end here, with the increased number of lymphocytes the level of protein concentration also increases. Both the problems can create serious health and nervous system issues to the patient.

Pleocytosis Symptoms

Pleocytosis can be mild in nature right from the start, the first indication can be the range of lymphocyte counts that should be 10-100 cell per mm3.The next symptom could be the concentration of white cell per µL. In Pleocytosis the concentration can reaches to 199 ± 174 cells per mm3. Another symptom of the Pleocytosis could be the number of white blood cell, the count of the white blood cells can rise up to 500 cells per mm3. Such a high concentration of the white blood cells can make the cerebrospinal fluid look cloudier in nature. The diagnostic tests are enough to find out the nature of cerebrospinal fluid.

Pleocytosis Causes

The lymphocytic Pleocytosis is resulted due to the immunity responded by the neurovascular inflammation. In some of the cases it is found that the inflammation can be caused by a type of viral infection. The main root cause of the Pleocytosis is due to the production of antibodies. These antibodies are actually developed by the immune system so that the neuronal and vascular antigens cannot have an effect. Meningitis and mollaret diseases can possibly have the connections with such antigens as well. There are some non viral infections that can play an active role in Pleocytosis. Likewise Lyme disease can be one of the non-viral infections.

Pleocytosis Diagnosis

Well yes the diagnosis is very much possible. There is a term used called lumber puncture, in this method the clinical analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid can be made possible. The two most important features of the cerebrospinal fluid that are to be closely monitored are the appearance and the pressure. During the analysis the amount of the glucose and the protein present in the fluid is also considered as the part of the diagnosis. Last but not the least the number of white blood cells is one of the prime concerns in the process of diagnosis. With the help of lumber puncture the count of white blood cells can be reduced to a normal range.

Pleocytosis Treatment

It is often seen pleocytosis is happened due to some kind of viral or bacterial infection like meningitis, encephalitis or due to immune system induction. Blood culture or cerebrospinal fluid culture is very helpful to rule out possible cause. Antibiotics or anti-viral drugs might be used to eradicate infection completely. Similarly, in case of auto-immune disease immunosuppressants are mainstay to reduce the hyperactivity of immune system. Some steroidal drugs may also be used in auto-immune disorder.