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Leukemias can cause white blood cell counts to increase to as much as 100,000. Each kind of white cell can produce a leukemia. Apart from leukemias, nearly all leukocytosis is due to one type of white blood cell, the polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN). These conditions are more accurately referred to as neutrophilia.
The most common and important cause of neutrophilia is infection, and most infections cause neutrophilia. The degree of elevation often indicates the severity of the infection. Tissue damage from other causes raises the white count for similar reasons. Burns, infarction (cutting off the blood supply to a region of the body so that it dies), crush injuries, inflammatory diseases, poisonings, and severe diseases, like kidney failure and diabetic ketoacidosis, all cause neutrophilia.
Counts almost as high occur in leukemoid (leukemia-like) reactions caused by infection and non-infectious inflammation.
Drugs can also cause leukocytosis. Cortisone-like drugs (prednisone), lithium, and NSAIDs are the most common offenders.
Non-specific stresses also cause white blood cells to increase in the blood. Extensive testing of medical students reveals that neutrophilia accompanies every examination. Vigorous exercise and intense excitement also cause elevated white blood cell counts.
— J. Ricker Polsdorfer, MD
