My son (8 years old) had blodd work come back with a moderate elevation in lymphocytes(fighting off an infection).  The blood work also showed a presence of smudge cells. He tested negative for mono.  Can this be the result of anything besides Leukemia?
Smudge cells occur as a result of damage to lymphocytes during the slide preparation, it can be seen in CLL but is not the most sensitive test, so it does not mean for sure that you have CLL. Symptoms of leukemia are nonspecific and includes unexplained fevers, bruising, fatigue. You need to do some more specific test to verify exact diagnosis.