Neutrophils, a type of white blood cell (WBC), normally help fight infections. Some types of chemotherapy can cause a low level (i.e., low count) of neutrophils in the blood as a side effect. The presence of a low level of neutrophils in the blood is a condition called neutropenia.
Patients with neutropenia frequently experience infections in the body and related fever. Infections in patients with neutropenia are harder to overcome than infections in people with normal levels of neutrophils.
For information on prevention of infections and treatment of neutropenia, see our Q&A, "Is there anything that can be done to prevent the infections and prevent and treat the neutropenia that I am experiencing due to chemotherapy?"
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