Ivo Andrejco
Medical ProfessionalAbout me
Good day! If you’re wondering who I am and what this is all about — my name is Ivo. Not Dr Ivo, not Dr Andrejco (pronounced Andreytzo 😀)… just Ivo is perfectly fine.
I completed my Master’s degree in General Medicine at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic in 1998 and moved to Australia shortly afterwards. At that time my English skills were… let’s say not exactly consultation-ready. I essentially had to start from scratch.
I passed the Australian Medical Council written exam in 2004, waited another 18 months to sit the clinical exam, and then a further six months before finally starting my internship at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney in 2006. It was a long road — but absolutely worth it.
I completed my specialist training in Haematology at Westmead Hospital in 2016. Along the way I spent about 18 months training in palliative care — I thought it would complement haematology, and in some ways it did, but I realised my heart really belongs in haematology. I became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia in 2017.
Over the years I’ve worked across many regional centres including Dubbo, Orange, Coffs Harbour, Kempsey, Taree, Rockhampton and Launceston. I’ve always preferred working in underserviced areas — the medicine is broad, the work is meaningful, and you can actually build relationships with patients and the community.
Eventually I found my way to Cairns, which ticked every box professionally and personally. I relocated here permanently in 2024 and now work as a Staff Specialist in Haematology at Cairns Hospital.
My clinical approach
My practice covers the full spectrum of haematology, including:
- lymphomas and myeloma
- leukaemias
- myeloproliferative neoplasms
- cytopenias
- iron disorders
- clotting and bleeding disorders
I also enjoy general medicine and have worked as a general physician in several settings.
I like to keep my consultations informal, calm and human. Patients are often anxious when they see a haematologist — so I try to make the experience as comfortable and understandable as possible.
I strongly believe that every patient deserves the best care, regardless of whether they are seen in the public or private system — or any other label.
I am much more of a clinician than a researcher. I enjoy working with patients, solving real problems and helping people understand their conditions. Research is valuable, but it’s not where I feel most at home — although I’m always open to collaborating on projects that genuinely interest me.
Outside medicine
Outside of work I’m very into fitness and the gym (trying to keep up with my own advice… with varying success 😀).
I also enjoy working with technology — especially building practical tools. This website is one of those projects. I created it to:
- share practical haematology knowledge
- help colleagues understand when and how to refer
- provide clear explanations of common conditions
There is a huge amount of information online — much of it looks convincing, but isn’t always correct. Even AI tools (yes, including ChatGPT) can be helpful but occasionally get things spectacularly wrong… they’re still learning.
Final thought
My goal is simple:
to provide clear, sensible, patient-centred haematology care and to make complex topics easier to understand for both patients and colleagues.
If this website helps even a little in that direction, then it’s doing its job.
Articles by Ivo Andrejco (22)
When to Suspect VEXAS Syndrome: A Practical Guide for Clinicians
Since its discovery in 2020, VEXAS syndrome has rapidly emerged as an important cause of late-onset systemic inflammation associated with clonal hematopoiesis. The syndrome is increasingly recognised in patients previously labelled as having refractory autoimmune disease, relapsing polychondritis, or unexplained inflammatory syndromes with cytopenias.
10 March 2026
When Inflammation Doesn’t Fit the Pattern: A Patient With Possible VEXAS Syndrome
Sometimes medicine follows predictable patterns. Other times it doesn’t. Recently I saw a patient whose symptoms did not neatly fit into any familiar diagnosis. He had been unwell for several years, seeing multiple specialists, undergoing many tests, and receiving different treatments — yet no single explanation tied everything together.
10 March 2026
Monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis
Monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (MBL) is a blood disorder defined by a small, clonal expansion of B lymphocytes that lack features of leukemia or lymphoma. It is considered a precursor state to chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) but is not itself a cancer. Most people with MBL remain asymptomatic and never progress to CLL.
10 March 2026
Monoclonal B-Cell Lymphocytosis (MBL): What It Means, Risk of Leukemia, and What Happens Next
Many people first hear about Monoclonal B-cell Lymphocytosis after a routine blood test. A doctor may say something like: "Your blood test showed a small population of abnormal B cells, called monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis." Naturally, this raises concerns. Is this cancer? Will it turn into leukemia?
10 March 2026
Easy bruising
Easy bruising is a very common reason for referral to a haematologist that rarely results in the diagnosis of a serious underlying bleeding disorder
10 March 2026
Erythrocytosis
The haemoglobin, haematocrit and red blood cell count reference ranges will vary depending on the age, gender and pregnancy status of the patient, as well as the laboratory performing the test. In general, a haemoglobin > 165 g/L in males and >145 g/L in females; and a haematocrit > 0.5 in males and > 0.44 in females is considered elevated. An elevated haematocrit should be demonstrated on more than one occasion to ensure the change is not artefactual.
10 March 2026
FBC abnormalities in liver disease
Chronic liver disease is associated with a range of full blood count abnormalities. The mechanisms of these changes are multifactorial and can be related to portal hypertension with splenomegaly/ hypersplenism, marrow suppression from medication or alcohol use, reduced thrombopoietin production and chronic viral infections associated with liver disease (e.g. hepatitis C).
10 March 2026
Leukocytosis
The white blood cell count reference range will vary depending on the age, gender and pregnancy status of the patient, as well as the laboratory performing the test. In general, the white blood cell count is considered elevated when it is above 11 x 109/L.
10 March 2026
High Ferritin
Elevated ferritin is a common reason for referral to the haematology clinic. The vast majority of patients with elevated ferritin will not have an underlying disease which is within the scope of a haematologist. Assessment of elevated ferritin should always take into account transferrin saturation, along with a full blood count, renal and liver function tests. The algorithm below will assist in sorting out the likely cause.
10 March 2026
Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia
Iron deficiency is the most common micronutrient deficiency worldwide and the predominant cause of anaemia, which affects one‐quarter of the global population. In Australia, 22.3% of women have depleted iron stores (serum ferritin level < 30 μg/L), with pre‐menopausal women disproportionately affected. In contrast, 3.5% of men are iron deficient.
10 March 2026
Living With Mild Chronic Neutropenia: When “Abnormal” Blood Counts Are Actually Benign
A perspective from the clinic Yesterday I saw a patient whose story is actually quite common in haematology clinics. He had mild neutropenia — a slightly reduced neutrophil count — that had been present for as long as records existed, going back nearly 20 years. Over that time he had remained completely well, with no unusual infections or health problems.
10 March 2026
Lymphocytosis
The lymphocyte reference range will vary depending on the age and gender of the patient, as well as the laboratory performing the test. In general, the lymphocyte count is considered elevated when it is above 5 x 10<sup>9<sup>/L.
10 March 2026
Lymphopenia
Lymphopenia is a common finding from a full blood count, especially in elderly patients, where it is usually of no clinical significance. No further investigation is advised in an elderly patient with a lymphocyte count >0.5×109/L in the absence of any concerning symptoms. Symptomatic patients with persistent lymphopenia should be referred to the most appropriate specialty based on clinical and laboratory features
10 March 2026
Macrocytosis
Macrocytosis refers to an increased red cell mean cell volume (MCV). The normal MCV will vary depending on the age of the patient, but in adults, is generally considered increased when it is > 100 fL. Macrocytosis is a common abnormality that is not pathological per se.
10 March 2026
Ivermectin, Fenbendazole and Cancer: A Conversation I Recently Had With a Patient
A short explanation for people who may have come across these claims online Recently, I saw a patient with newly diagnosed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Like many thoughtful and proactive patients, he had been doing some reading online about possible treatments. During our conversation he mentioned that he had come across information suggesting that ivermectin could be used to treat cancer. He had even found a book promoting this idea.
10 March 2026
Mild Anaemia
The haemoglobin reference range will vary depending on the age, gender and pregnancy status of the patient, as well as the laboratory performing the test. In general, the haemoglobin is considered to be low when it is < 130 g/L in males and <115 g/L in females. The MCV and reticulocyte count are useful to guide further investigation as below.
10 March 2026
Monocytosis
The monocyte reference range will vary depending on the age, gender and pregnancy status of the patient, as well as the laboratory performing the test. In general, the monocyte count is considered elevated when it is > 1 x 109/L.
1 March 2026
Neutrophilia
The neutrophil reference range will vary depending on the age, gender and pregnancy status of the patient, as well as the laboratory performing the test. In general, the neutrophil count is considered elevated when it is above 8 x 109/L.
1 March 2026
Is my iron really high?
Is my iron really high? Iron levels are often checked when you go to see doctors with fatigue, malaise, or weakness or when your blood shows anaemia which requires further investigations. The problem with iron test is that it has 5 components which can give a variety of combinations, some are high and some are low and then the interpretation becomes challenging. I have therefore decide to take a look at the common iron test result which often leads to further investigations as well as you often being told that you have high iron levels and you need be venesected (blood letting).
1 March 2026
Monoclonal gammopathy of uncertain significance (MGUS)
Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) happens when abnormal white blood cells make abnormal proteins called M proteins. M proteins don’t usually cause issues. Most people with MGUS don’t have symptoms. But a small percentage of people with this condition may develop blood cancer or a more serious blood disorder.
1 March 2026
Raised light chains
Serum free light chains are used to assess for clonally-restricted plasma cell populations. As such, they are only diagnostically useful and reflect possible pathological plasma cell conditions when there are elevated kappa or lambda serum free light chains AND the ratio of kappa to lambda free light chains is abnormal.
1 March 2026
Polyclonal and oligoclonal hypergammaglobulinemia
Hypergammaglobulinemia results from an overproduction of immunoglobulins. This process may be polyclonal or oligoclonal (i.e. increased synthesis from multiple plasma cell lines as seen in infection); or monoclonal (increased synthesis from a single plasma cell clone).
1 March 2026