Abnormal eosinophil count can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'worrying' to 'generally fatal'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.
Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose abnormal eosinophil count, we could:
Cause | Probability | Status |
---|---|---|
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma | 99% | Confirm |
Vasculitis | 29% | Unlikely |
Dermatitis Herpetiformis | 20% | Unlikely |
Hay Fever | 2% | Ruled out |
Drug Side-Effects | 1% | Ruled out |
Hodgkin's Lymphoma | 0% | Ruled out |
Asthma | 0% | Ruled out |
Leukemia | 0% | Ruled out |
White blood Cells - Eosinophil Percentage [fraction]
Possible responses:
→ Don't know→ 0 to 6% [0.00-0.06] (normal) → 7 to 10% [0.07-0.10] (slightly elevated) → 11-20% [0.11-0.20] (elevated) → Over 20% [0.20] (high) |
Hodgkin's lymphoma often causes severe eosinophilia.
Acute Eosinophilic Leukemia (AEL) is a rare subtype of acute myeloid leukemia in which most of the cells in the blood and marrow are eosinophilic cells. Chronic Eosinophilic Leukemia (CEL) is a disease in which too many eosinophils are made in the bone marrow.
As with Hodgkin's lymphoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma causes eosinophilia (elevated eosinophil levels), but to a lesser degree.