[Chronic neutropenia (author's transl)].

Chronic neutropenia was demonstrated in 6 members of a family including 3 children. Patient suffered from recurrent infections of the throat and upper respiratory tract and from lymphadenitis. There were no life-threatening diseases in any of the patients. In the bone marrow myelopoiesis showed arrested maturation. The previously reported forms of chronic neutropenia with mild clinical course are not differentiated either by haematological or by clinical data. We therefore suggest that they should be considered as one disease entity for the time being. This results in classification of childhood chronic neutropenia according to the clinical picture: a serious form (Kostmann) and cyclic neutropenia must be differentiated from the benign form described here.