Endpoint
Total leukocyte count
CAT:outcome/leukocyte-countreported in x10^9/L
Method
Total white blood cell count in peripheral blood from an automated full blood count analyser. The reported unit is recorded on the edge — values appear both as x10^9 per litre and as cells per microlitre and differ by a factor of one thousand.
The method is part of the endpoint identity. Studies measuring the same quantity by a different method are held as separate endpoints.
Notes
"WBC" declared 2026-08-27, after a burn-ICU null was refused with "WBC shares no vocabulary with CAT:outcome/leukocyte-count". The node already SAID it covers white blood cell count and its measurement spells the phrase out; it simply had no token for the acronym every paper actually writes. Unlike "LOS" on the length-of-stay nodes, this abbreviates the whole endpoint rather than a substring two endpoints share, and no sibling contests it — the differential subsets are named for their own cells. So declaring it discriminates rather than merging. SCOPE: this node deliberately covers both 'leukocyte count' and 'white blood cell count'. They are the same number from the same analyser, and separate nodes would split one literature and tie on every paper. DIRECTION IS CONTEXT-DEPENDENT AND IS THE SIGN-INVERSION HAZARD HERE: falling is benefit where the count is elevated by inflammation or infection, but RISING is benefit in myelosuppression, chemotherapy-induced leukopenia, and nutritional immune repletion. The direction must be asserted on each edge and never inherited from this node. Confused with the differential subset counts — neutrophils, monocytes, lymphocytes, CD4+ absolute count. The total is dominated by neutrophils, so a real monocyte or lymphocyte change can occur against a completely flat total. It is also the denominator context for the lymphocyte subset percentages: a change in this total moves those percentages without any subset changing. Distinct again from the incidence of leukopenia, a dichotomous event.
Findings
3 findings from 3 compounds, strongest first.
melatonin — no detected effect on
LikelyGrade B, Likely. Human evidence, limited replication or design limits.FindingNull result“In the 3 studies, there was no significant difference in WBC count between the melatonin treated group and the control group (WMD = –1.07, 95% CI = –2.44, 0.30, P =.13) (Fig..”
Quoted verbatim from The safety and efficacy of melatonin in the treatment of COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.. - Study
- meta-analysis
- Population
- Hospitalised COVID-19 patients; secondary endpoint, 3 trials of adjunctive melatonin vs control
Effect -1.07 mean difference, 95% CI -2.44 to 0.3
The safety and efficacy of melatonin in the treatment of COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.2022PMID:36181086
coenzyme Q10 — no detected effect on
LikelyGrade B, Likely. Human evidence, limited replication or design limits.FindingNull result“As shown in Table 2, there were no significant differences in hematological parameters (RBC, hemoglobin, hematocrit, MCV, MCH, MCHC, WBC, lymphocyte, neutrophil, and platelet) between CoQ10 and placebo groups at the end of the study (P > 0.05).”
Quoted verbatim from Coenzyme Q10 supplementation in burn patients: a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial.. - Study
- RCT
- Participants
- 52
- Duration
- 10 days
- Dose
- 100 mg three times a day after meals, total 300 mg/day
- Population
- Adults aged 18-65 with 20-60% total body surface area burns admitted to a burn ICU in Isfahan, Iran, all receiving routine burn care and the unit's standard vitamin, selenium, zinc and B-complex supplementation in both arms; primary outcome.
Coenzyme Q10 supplementation in burn patients: a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial.2024PMID:38431600
Ginkgo biloba — no detected effect on
LikelyGrade B, Likely. Human evidence, limited replication or design limits.FindingNull result“The white blood cell count did not change either in the GKB or in the placebo group after 90 days.”
Quoted verbatim from The efficacy and safety of Ginkgo biloba extract as an adjuvant in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients ineffectively managed with metformin: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.. - Study
- RCT
- Participants
- 47
- Duration
- 3 months
- Dose
- 120 mg once daily for 90 days, added to ongoing metformin
- Population
- Adults aged 25 to 65 with type 2 diabetes uncontrolled on metformin, recruited in Sulaimani, Iraq; both arms continued their usual metformin dose throughout.