Contributed by – Healthians Team
What is the Absolute Eosinophil Count?
Eosinophils are a type of disease-fighting white blood cells, and healthy levels need to be maintained for proper functioning. An absolute eosinophil count is a blood test that measures the number of eosinophils in the body. Your eosinophils do two important things once they circulate in the blood which includes:
- Curbing infections
- Boosting inflammation
Eosinophils become active due to certain allergic diseases, infections, and other medical conditions.
What happens when they get out of control? Read on to find out.
If you have too many eosinophils in your body for a long time is called eosinophilia. It can cause chronic inflammation, which could cause damage to your tissues.
Who should get an Absolute Eosinophil Count?
This laboratory test may be recommended by your healthcare practitioner when you have abnormal results when a white blood count differential is performed. This test may also be ordered if your doctor thinks you exhibit symptoms of specific diseases like:
- Cushing’s syndrome, which is a hormone disorder
- Acute hypereosinophilic syndrome, which causes organ damage
Why is the Absolute Eosinophil Count needed?
Laboratory tests may be done for many reasons like routine health screenings or if a disease or toxicity is suspected. Lab tests could be used to determine if a medical condition is improving or deteriorating, to measure the success or failure of a medicine or a line of treatment, and/or for professional or legal purposes.
This test is needed to diagnose a few conditions like:
- Acute hypereosinophilic syndrome, a rare condition that’s similar to leukaemia and can be life-threatening
- An allergic disorder like asthma, red itchy eyes, coughing or abdominal pain
- Autoimmune conditions
- Addison disease
- An infection caused by a particular parasite or fungus
- In the early stages of Cushing’s disease
- Eczema (itchy, inflamed skin)
- Leukaemia and other blood disorders
What does the Absolute Eosinophil Count result mean?
Eosinophils structures 0.0 to 6.0 per cent of your blood. The absolute count is the percentage of eosinophils multiplied by your white blood corpuscle count. The count may vary between different laboratories, but a normal range is typically between 30 and 350.
A count that is greater than 500 cells per microliter of blood is considered eosinophilia. Most laboratories classify normal eosinophil levels as fewer than 500 eosinophil cells per microliter of blood. In children, eosinophil levels vary with age.
Higher than Normal eosinophil count
Having a higher-than-normal eosinophil count within the bloodstream is called eosinophilia.
This condition may be:
- mild (500–1,500 cells/mm3)
- moderate (1,500–5,000 cells/mm3)
- severe (greater than 5,000 cells/mm3)
Conditions where too many eosinophils are within the body include :
- eosinophilic esophagitis (a disorder in your oesophagus) and
- eosinophilic colitis (a disorder in your large intestine)
These disorders also can occur in your stomach, intestine, blood, or other organs.
Lower than normal eosinophil count could suggest:
- Alcohol misuse
- Overproduction of certain steroids, like cortisol
How is the Absolute Eosinophil Count test done?
The testing for absolute eosinophil count is done by drawing a blood sample from a vein, usually from the forearm. There is usually no special preparation required prior to the test. Fasting isn’t necessary. The blood sample is sent to a lab for clinical analysis. You can return to your usual activities immediately.
