Your Complete Blood Count report: Know how to read it

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Blood test is an indispensable tool for doctors to diagnose a countless variety of diseases and ailments. It is used to monitor the levels of various health markers like glucose, vitamins, lipids, and what not. Blood tests are instrumental in identifying potential health problems starting from cardiovascular issues and cancer to anaemia, kidney and liver issues, so on and so forth. They help you check the functioning of your organs, seek correct medical advice accordingly, and tell you how effective a treatment is for you. The line of treatment is decided and altered based on the findings of your blood report. Done by taking a small amount of blood (1-3 teaspoons or 3-10 millilitres) with the help of a needle, blood tests are also carried out to identify your blood group.

One of the most common yet crucial blood tests is Common Blood Count (CBC). It is generally prescribed as a part of your routine checkup. It’s also done before performing surgeries, during cancer therapies and other treatments to understand their effectiveness. It helps to determine your general health status and monitor diseases and conditions that affect your blood cells. CBC keeps a track of your blood cell count. A low or high blood count can point in the direction of diseases like anaemia, blood clotting problems, blood cancers, and immune system disorders. According to research done at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute, a CBC can even predict your life expectancy. So, it is crucial that you learn to read your own CBC report. We tell you how.

RED BLOOD CELLS (RBC)
Available in abundance, these round flat blood cells carry fresh oxygen throughout the body.

Red blood cell count is the total number of red blood cells you have (RBCs).
Normal values: Male: 4.7 to 6.1 million cells/cubic mm
Female: 4.2 to 5.4 million cells/cubic mm

Inference: Increased RBC count can be due to-

Cigarette smoking
Dehydration
Congenital heart disease
High altitude
Low oxygen level in the blood
Medications like gentamicin and methyldopa
A kidney tumour
Decreased RBC count can be due to:
Anaemia
Malnutrition (Iron, folate, copper, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 deficiency)
Haemorrhage (bleeding)
Pregnancy
Leukaemia
Medications like chloramphenicol, quinidine and cancer drugs
Bone marrow failure
Erythropoietin deficiency
Hemolysis
Multiple myelomas

Haemoglobin:
It’s an iron-containing protein found in your red blood cells. It gives colour and shape to the RBCs and is responsible for carrying oxygen throughout the body.

Normal values: New-borns: 17-22 g/dl

1st week: 15-20 g/dl

1st month: 11-15g/dl

Children: 11-13 g/dl

Adult Male: 14-18 g/dl

Adult Female: 12-16 g/dl

Inference: Decreased haemoglobin leads to anaemia which can be due to:

Loss of blood due to injury or surgery
Nutritional deficiencies
Bone marrow diseases
Cancer drugs
Kidney failure

Increased haemoglobin levels can be seen in:

People living at high altitudes
People who smoke
Dehydration – produces falsely high haemoglobin which disappears on the restoration of proper fluid balance
Advanced lung disease (emphysema)
Polycythemia Rubra vera (bone marrow disorder)
Abuse of the drug erythropoietin
Certain tumours
Abnormal haemoglobin is seen in:
Sickle cell anaemia
Thalassemia

Hematocrit or PCV: It refers to the volume percentage of red blood cells in the blood and tends to change by altitude and heavy smoking.

Normal values: Men: 42-52%

Women: 35-45%

Inference: An increased hematocrit level means you’re dehydrated. A decreased hematocrit level means you have anaemia. Abnormal hematocrit levels also may be a sign of a blood or bone marrow disorder.

Mean corpuscular volume (MCV):
It refers to the average volume of red blood cell size. Based on the red blood corpuscle. This is achieved by multiplying a volume of blood by the proportion of blood that is cellular and dividing that product by the number of erythrocytes in that volume. Based on the cell measurements, anaemia is classified as microcytic (MCV below normal), normocytic (MCV within normal) and macrocytic (MCV above normal).

Normal value: 80-99 fL (femtolitres)

Inference: Abnormal MCV levels may be a sign of anaemia, alcoholism, thalassemia and reticulocytosis.

Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH):
It refers to average mass of haemoglobin per red blood cell in a sample of blood.

Normal value: 27 to 31picograms/cell

Inference: Decreased in hypochromic anaemia

Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration (MCHC):
It refers to the measure of the concentration of haemoglobin in a given volume of packed red blood cell.

Normal value: 32 to 36 g/dl

Inference: Decreased (hypochromic) in microcytic anaemia. Increased (hyperchromic) in hereditary spherocytosis, sickle cell anaemia and homozygous haemoglobin C disease.

Red Blood Cell Distribution Width (RDW):

It refers to the range in the volume and size of your red blood cells. Higher values, known as anisocytosis, indicate greater variation in size and helps in determining the possible causes of the anaemia.

Normal reference range: 11-15%

Inference: Increased RDW is seen in pernicious anaemia.

WHITE BLOOD CELLS (WBC)
Also called leucocytes, accounts for only 1 per cent of your blood but plays a significantly important role in maintaining good health and protects against illness and diseases. Neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes are the various types.

WBC count:
It measures the number of white blood cells in your body. Decreased WBCs is called leukopenia. Increased WBCs is called leukocytosis.

Normal range: 4,500-10,000 cells/microliter (mcL)

Inference: Decreased WBCs may be due to

Bone marrow deficiency
Disease of the liver or spleen
Exposure to radiation, etc.
Increased WBCs may be due to:
anaemia
Infections
Inflammatory diseases
Leukaemia, bone marrow tumour, etc.

A blood differential count:
It measures the number of each of the five types of WBCs in your blood: neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils and basophils.

Normal values:

Neutrophil 40-75 % of WBCs

Lymphocytes 25-40% of WBCs

Monocytes 2%-8% of WBCs

Eosinophil 0%-7% of WBCs

Basophil 0%-1% of WBCs

Inference:
Neutrophil count increased in bacterial and acute viral infections and decreased in aplastic anaemia, and recent chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Lymphocyte count increased in viral infections and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and decreased by HIV infection. Monocyte count increased in bacterial infection, malaria, tuberculosis, monocytic leukaemia, chronic ulcerative colitis, etc. Eosinophil count increased in parasitic infections, asthma or allergic reaction. Basophil count increased in leukaemia or lymphoma.

PLATELETS
Platelets are small, colourless disc-shaped cells found in large numbers in your blood and are responsible for your blood to clot (thicken).

Platelet count:
It measures the number of platelets in your blood. A normal platelet count ranges from 1,50.000-,4,50,000 per microliter of blood. Increased platelet count is called thrombocytosis. Decreased platelet value is termed thrombocytopenia.

Normal values:

Adults: 140,000-400,000 cells/cubic mm

Children: 150,000-450,000 cells/cubic mm

Inference:
Increased in bleeding, iron deficiency, cancer or diseases of bone marrow and decreased in pregnancy or idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP).

Mean platelet volume (MPV):
It refers to the machine calculated measurement of the average size of platelets found in blood.

Normal value: 7.5–11 fL(femtolitre)

Inference:
Increased in immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) and myeloproliferative diseases. Abnormally low MPV values are seen primarily with thrombocytopenia due to impaired production (aplastic anaemia).

Published: January 15, 2019 7:36 pm

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