Department of Pediatrics, University of South Florida College of Medicine, 801 6th Avenue South, Box 9360, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA. rchriste@peds.ufl.edu
The term "congenital neutropenia" signifies neutropenia that is present at birth. It includes a wide variety of disorders, some transient and others life long. Some varieties of congenital neutropenia are mild, with blood neutrophil concentrations below normal but not low enough to constitute a significant host defense deficiency.Other varieties of congenital neutropenia are characterized by low blood neutrophil concentrations and a predisposition to repeated infections.