Benign Ethnic Neutropenia: How to Care for Your Child

Benign ethnic neutropenia means a person has a slightly lower than expected number of neutrophils in their blood. Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell that fights infection. The condition is called benign ethnic neutropenia because it happens most often in people who are not white or Caucasian. Even though your child has fewer neutrophils, having benign ethnic neutropenia doesn’t make your child more likely to get an infection or illness.

When a child has benign ethnic neutropenia, the laboratory identifies the number of neutrophils as lower than normal. This is because the lab finds the count to be low when compared with counts from populations (large numbers of people). Data from populations don’t take into consideration differences that can vary by age, sex, race, or ethnicity. 

There is no special care your child needs at this time. 

Your child develops: 

• fever with no known cause 

• fatigue

• weight loss

• mouth sores

1. Is my child more likely to get an infection, because they have fewer white blood cells? No. Your child isn’t more likely to get an infection because of the low number of neutrophils alone. If your child has other symptoms, your doctor will ask you about this.

2. Is my child at higher risk for cancer?  No. Having benign ethnic neutropenia doesn’t put your child at higher risk. If other results from the blood test are also out of range, it means your child doesn’t have benign ethnic neutropenia and needs to see a hematologist (a doctor who cares for children with problems with the blood).

3. Will my child need to have blood tests more often?  Sometimes doctors repeat blood tests to see if the repeat test shows similar results. (The number of neutrophils will never be the exact same number.) When you first learn your child has benign ethnic neutropenia, the doctor may test the blood more often to find out your child’s typical neutrophil range.

4. Why do some people have lower neutrophil counts?  There are many reasons some children have lower neutrophil counts. In benign ethnic neutropenia, it is likely that a specific genetic mutation (change) is passed down from the parents or grandparents. (Black people are more likely than others to have benign ethnic neutropenia.)