Polymorphonuclear Cells: Eosinophils and Basophils (Nursing)

00:00 Hey, welcome back. Let's take a look at the eosinophils.

00:04 Now they get called that because they stain with the red dye, eosin.

00:08 Clever, huh? Really, these guys that come up with the names could never work at a lipstick factory because, you know, they're not very creative, but that's why these cells are called eosinophils because they stain red with the dye, eosin.

00:21 Now these are a smaller percentage of the white blood cells, normally 0-4%, right? So, see if you can recall what percentage the neutrophils are.

00:31 Okay, if you can't, go ahead and look at your notes, but remember, they're a much larger percentage.

00:38 Okay, we're going to look at the same drill, right? It's eosinophilia and eosinopenia.

00:42 So you can have an excess of the eosinophils if there's an allergic reaction.

00:47 So if I have a food allergy, like peanuts, and I take peanuts, you're going to see the eosinophils go up.

00:52 The body feels like it's under attack because I'm allergic to that food.

00:56 That's why you see a rise in the eosinophils.

00:59 Now bee stings can be a much bigger deal, right? But food allergies and bee stings could be a mild reaction up to a life-threatening reaction, but you're going to see the eosinophils elevated either way.

01:11 Parasitic infections.

01:13 That doesn't sound like any fun, but if you have a parasite inside your body, you have an infection, you'll see a rise in your eosinophils.

01:22 Leukemia. You're going to see leukemia come up over and over again because their lab values, their CBC numbers are way out of whack.

01:31 Now you're going to see a rise in eosinophils when your bone marrow is hyperactive.

01:35 Remember, we talked about low coming from bone marrow that's suppressed, but eosinophils go up higher where the bone marrow is hyperactive.

01:44 Now, you can also have autoimmune disease or -- here's something -- polyarteritis nodosa.

01:49 That is not something you hear every day, but it causes a vasculitis and inflammation and you'll see a rise in the eosinophils.

01:56 Now let's look at the opposite problem, eosinopenia.

02:00 That means low eosinophils. It's generally not a concern, but it might be an indication of some type of nutritional deficiency or excessive glucocorticoids.

02:11 So, remember, this is the one that 0% is still within normal range for some labs.

02:17 So pay close attention to what the normal values are listed for the lab where the lab work was processed.

02:23 Basophils. Now, they stain with a basic dye and they're a blue color.

02:28 Now, they are a smaller percentage of the white blood cells, normally 0-2%, right? So there's not very many of these around. Now, they are a smaller percentage of the white blood cells, normally 0-2%, right? So there's not very many of these around.

02:36 Basophilia happens in an allergic reaction, somebody who has chronic myeloid leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, Now, again, basopenia is generally not a concern, but it can also be a nutritional deficiency.

02:48 Wait a minute. This is starting to sound familiar, right? So a great way to study is to think about what else have we just talked about that a low volume of could mean a nutritional deficiency? Yeah, jot that in your notes. That will help you remember it as you're moving forward and coming back to review your notes.

03:07 Okay, also excessive glucocorticoids.

03:09 So I think we've pretty much established that glucocorticoids can really play with your numbers on your CBC.

03:16 And again, we want to remind you on this value too, that 0% is within normal range, so make sure you pay close attention to the lab's particular normal range value.