THE ROLE OF WHITE BLOOD CELL COUNT IN PERIANAL PATHOLOGIES: A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF HEMATOLOGIC MALIGNANCIES

Abstract

Background and Objective: Perianal pathologies are the most common cause of perianal infections in patients with hematological malignancies. Perianal infection diagnosis in this group of patients is difficult, thus careful anorectal examination is necessary, with imaging modalities. The literature revealed a knowledge gap on the approach of anal pathologies in patients with neutropenia during diagnosis or chemotherapy. This study aimed to examine our institutional data of perianal complications and investigate the relationship among the white blood cell-neutrophil count, perianal lesion, and the type of treatment in patients with hematologic malignancies during the neutropenic period. Methods: Patients with a hematologic malignancy, hospitalized for cytotoxic chemotherapy, complicated by perianal pathology, and documented by at least one imaging method were included in the study. Results: A total of 42 patients were included in the study. The comparison between the groups revealed no statistical significance between the anal abscess formation and the neutrophil count and previous perianal pathology. A statistical significance in favor of acute myeloid leukemia was found between patient diagnosis and anal abscess development. An inverse relationship was found between the number of white blood cells at hospitalization and having an anal pathology operation. It was observed that patients with high white blood cell count were less operated on due to anal pathology. Conclusions: In conclusion, this article has shown that white blood cell count at the time of hospitalization in patients with hematological malignancy, can affect the operation status of patients due to anal pathologies that may occur in the neutropenic period.