Absolute neutrophil count: How to Calculate the Absolute Neutrophil Count

How to Calculate the Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) is a simple but essential process that helps determine a patient’s risk for infection, especially in contexts such as chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. The ANC essentially estimates the total number of neutrophils available in the blood for fighting infections. Learn about neutrophils, a type of white blood cell that fights infections and heals wounds. Find out what causes high or low neutrophil counts and how to treat them. Learn what an absolute neutrophil count (ANC) test measures and what it means when it is low or high. Find out the causes, symptoms, and treatments of neutropenia and neutrophilia. Use this tool to calculate the ANC from the percentage of neutrophils and bands in the white blood cell count. The ANC is used to assess neutropenic fever in chemotherapy patients.