[Granulopoiesis in the alcoholic and cirrhotic patient. Exploration of neutropenia in cirrhosis using bone marrow cultures and a hydrocortisone test].

Twenty per cent of 60 patients with cirrhosis (55 alcoholic patients) had neutropenia (defined as neutrophil polymorphonuclear (NP) count under 2,000/mm3). The authors tried to define the mechanism of this neutropenia and compared it with the acute bone marrow cytotoxicity of alcohol. They found that bone marrow neutrophil colony growth was normal in 7 cases of cirrhosis compared to 7 controls (with and without cirrhotic serum incubation). On the other hand, the granulocyte response to hydrocortisone test was less marked than in controls. This result suggests involvement of the late maturation process of NP and delayed release from bone marrow.