THE EFFECT OF HYPERPYREXIA INDUCED BY RADIATION UPON THE LEUKOCYTE COUNT
William Bierman, M.D. · 1934
Hyperpyrexia induced by 30 m radiation caused an initial 25 to 30 per cent drop in white blood cells followed by a leukocytosis peaking at 80 per cent above baseline.
Plain English Summary
Researchers induced hyperpyrexia in 24 human subjects using 30 m radio waves, raising rectal temperature to 104° to 106° F. and maintaining it for 3 to 4 hours. White blood cells initially fell 25 to 30 per cent by the end of the first or second hour. By the third to fifth hour leukocyte counts rose to 80 per cent above baseline, reaching as high as 22,600, and immature forms such as myelocytes, metamyelocytes, premyelocytes, and myeloblasts appeared.
Why This Matters
Staff neutrophils showed the greatest increase, averaging about 300 per cent and peaking around the 9th hour. Total neutrophils initially decreased by about 25 per cent during the first three hours. Repeated treatments every other day reduced the leukocytic response and lowered white cell counts between sessions.
Finding
An initial reduction, about 25 to 30 per cent, in the number of leukocytes regularly occurs, usually during the 1st or 2d hour of treatment. This is constantly followed by a leukocytosis, whose maximum, amounting to about 50 per cent above the initial figure, occurs about the 6th to the 9th hour.
In their words
“An initial reduction, about 25 to 30 per cent, in the number of leukocytes regularly occurs, usually during the 1st or 2d hour of treatment. This is constantly followed by a leukocytosis, whose maximum, amounting to about 50 per cent above the initial figure, occurs about the 6th to the 9th hour.”
Figures from the Original Paper
Diagrams extracted from the original research document.
Show BibTeX
@article{the_effect_of_hyperpyrexia_induced_by_radiation_upon_the_leukocyte_count_g5876,
author = {William Bierman and M.D.},
title = {THE EFFECT OF HYPERPYREXIA INDUCED BY RADIATION UPON THE LEUKOCYTE COUNT},
year = {1934},
}