Monocytes circulate in the blood and then enter the tissues and terminally differentiate into tissue macrophages, which are important antigen-presenting cells.
An increased percentage of monocytes may indicate:
- Chronic inflammatory / immune disease: ulcerative colitis, regional enteritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, sarcoidosis
- Protozoal infections: malaria, kala-azar, trypanosomiasis
- Rickettsial infections: Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, typhus
- Bacterial infections: subacute bacterial endocarditis, tuberculosis, brucellosis, syphilis
- Viral infection (for example, infectious mononucleosis, mumps, measles)
- Congenital Gaucher disease, neoplastic monocytic leukemia, myeloid metaplasia, and recovery from agranulocytosis can all lead to increased level of monocytes also.
Risk factors for Monocytes Elevated
Monocytes Elevated suggests the following may be present
Recommendations for Monocytes Elevated
Key
| Weak or unproven link |
| Strong or generally accepted link |
| May do some good |
Glossary
Chronic
Usually Chronic illness: Illness extending over a long period of time.
Ulcerative Colitis
(Colitis ulcerosa): Ulceration of the colon and rectum, usually long-term and characterized by rectal bleeding or blood in the stool, frequent urgent diarrhea/bowel movements each day, abdominal pain.
Enteritis
Sometimes Enteritis regionalis: Localized inflammation of the intestine.
Tuberculosis
Also known as TB, Consumption or "The White Plague", tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis, usually affecting the lungs but possibly also the brain, kidneys and bones. Patients may at first be symptom-free or experience a flu-like illness. In the secondary stage, there might be a slight fever, night sweats, weight loss, fatigue and various other symptoms, depending on the part of the body affected. Tuberculosis of the lung is usually associated with a dry cough that eventually leads to a productive cough with blood-stained sputum. There might also be chest pain and shortness of breath.
Syphilis
A sexually-transmitted disease, with symptoms in the early contagious stages being a sore on the genitalia, a rash, patches of flaking tissue, fever, a sore throat, and sores in the mouth or anus.
Mononucleosis
An acute, infectious disease caused by the herpes virus, Epstein-Barr virus, with fever and inflamed swelling of the lymph nodes around the neck, under the arms, and in the groin.
Leukemia
Cancer of the lymph glands and bone marrow resulting in overproduction of white blood cells (related to Hodgkin's disease).
Type
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