Introduction Neutropenia is the decrease of neutrophil count in the blood. It is classified as mild, when the Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) is 1000–1500 cells/µL, or<1.100 cells/µL in infants 1 month-2years old, moderate (ANC=500–1000 cells/µL), and severe neutropenia (ANC<500 cells/µL). The causes can be congenital or acquired, most frequently related with infections and drugs and the clinical significance is major because of the increased risk of infections.

Aim Incidence and causes of neutropenia in hospitalised children in our Paediatric Clinic during the year 2016.

Methods All the hospitalised children from 01-01-2016 to 31-12-2016 were screened for the presence of neutropenia during their hospitalisation. The type of neutropenia, the causes and the other blood cells counts were recorded for every neutropenic child.

Results Among 784 children hospitalised during 2016, 35 were found to be neutropenic (4,46%). None of these children had known neutropenia in their history. Viral infections were the first cause of neutropenia, with the second cause (14%) being the use of antimicrobial drugs. The majority of neutropenias were mild to moderate (83%), whereas 6 children presented with severe neutropenia. Among them, three patients were diagnosed with viral infections, two had autoimmune diseases and the other remained undiagnosed. A percentage of 8,5% had also reduction in other blood cells.

Conclusion The most common form of neutropenia in hospitalised children is mild-moderate neutropenia of viral aetiology, which resolves itself. However, major systematic diseases should always be excluded.