CBC stands for Complete Blood Count. It's a blood test that measures all of the different types of cells in your blood. If you've ever had a blood test done before, then you probably already know about the CBC test. However, if you're new to blood tests, there are a few things you should know about this common blood test.
There are three main categories of blood cells: red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. All three of these cell types play an important role in keeping you healthy. So, knowing how to interpret a CBC test correctly can help you get a clearer picture of your health.
In this article, I'm going to explain each of the three categories individually and provide you with a cheat sheet to help you learn how to perform the CBC test correctly.
A CBC is usually performed as part of a routine physical exam or when you have symptoms that suggest something might be wrong with your body. For example, if you notice bruising on your skin or bleeding from any other area of your body, it could mean that you need to see a doctor right away.
If you have a fever, chills, sore throat, cough, shortness of breath, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, or joint pain, then you'll want to make sure to mention those symptoms to your doctor so he/she can rule out anything more serious.
To perform a CBC, your healthcare provider will take a small amount of blood from one of your veins using a needle and syringe. A CBC test requires only two drops of blood. This means that you won't feel any discomfort during the procedure.
Your healthcare provider may ask you to lie down while they draw your blood. He/she will use a bandage to cover the puncture site after drawing your blood. Afterward, your healthcare provider will give you some instructions on what to do next.
After performing the CBC test, your healthcare provider will tell you whether or not everything looks normal. They'll also tell you which category of cells was affected by the disease or disorder that caused your symptoms.
For example, if you have a high level of white blood cells but no infection, then your healthcare provider will likely say that you don't have an infection. In addition, if your WBC count is low, but your red blood cell count is okay, then your healthcare provider will most likely say that you don't have anemia.
However, if both your WBC and RBC counts are low, then your healthcare provider will likely diagnose you with leukemia.
Here are some key points to keep in mind when reading your CBC results:
 Your healthcare provider will report your total number of white blood cells. These include neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, basophils, eosinophils, erythrocytes, hemoglobin, hematocrit, MCV, MCHC, RDWCV, and RDWCV.
Your healthcare provider will also report your total number of platelets. These include thrombocytosis, thrombocytopenia, megakaryocyte hypoplasia, polychromatic normoblasts, orthochromatic normoblasts, immature reticulocytes, and reticulocytes.
Finally, your healthcare provider will report your total number of nucleated red blood cells. These include prokaryotic cells, bacterial cells, fungal cells, and viral cells. If your healthcare provider detects any abnormalities, he/she will write them down in a medical record.
As mentioned before, your healthcare provider will also determine how many categories of cells were affected by the disease or disorder that caused your symptoms. It's important to remember that CBC results aren't always accurate. Sometimes your healthcare provider will find nothing abnormal even though you're experiencing symptoms. This happens because your CBC results depend on your current health status.
So, if you're feeling well, then your CBC results should look great. However, if you're sick, then your CBC results will probably show signs of illness.
If you've never had a CBC test performed on yourself, then it can be difficult to know what your CBC results mean. Fortunately, however, there are normal ranges for each of these CBC tests.
1) A normal range for your WBC counts is between 4.5 - 10.0K. That means that you should have between 4.5 - 10.0K white blood cells per microliter of blood.
2) A normal range for your RBC counts is between 3.7 - 5.5M. That means that you should have between 3.7 - 5.5M red blood cells per microliter of blood.
3) A normal range for your Hemoglobin Levels is between 13.5 - 17.5. That means that you should have between 13.5 - 17.5 grams of hemoglobin per deciliter of blood.
4) A normal range for your MCV is between 80 - 100. That means that you should have between 80 - 100 milliliters of volume per 100 grams of hemoglobin.
5) A normal range for your MCH is between 26 - 34. That means that you should have between 26 - 34 grams of hemoglobin per deciliter of blood.
6) A normal range for your RDWCV is between 12 - 15. That means that you should have between 12 - 15 percent of your total red blood cell count made up of young red blood cells.
7) A normal range for your RDWCV is between 0.6 - 1.2. That means that you should have between 0.6 - 1.2 percent of your total red blood cell count made up of young red blood cells.
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If your CBC results look anything like this, then it's time for a visit to your primary care physician.
A CBC is a type of blood test that measures different types of blood cells. A CBC can help your doctor detect problems in your immune system and identify diseases such as cancer.
CBCs are used to check for:
Neutropenia: Neutropenia occurs when there are too few neutrophil cells in the body. Neutrophils are part of the immune system and help fight infections.
Anemia: Anemia occurs when there are too few red blood cells in the body. Red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body.
Thrombocytopenia: Thrombocytopenia occurs when there are too few platelet cells in the body. Platelets are small pieces of tissue that help prevent bleeding.
Leukopenia: Leukopenia occurs when there are too few leukocyte cells in the body. Leukocytes are part of the immune system and help fight infection.
Lymphopenia: Lymphopenia occurs when there are too few lymphocyte cells in the body. Lymphocytes are part of the immune system and help fight infection.
Monocytopenia: Monocytopenia occurs when there are too few monocyte cells in the body. Monocytes are phagocytic cells that clear bacteria from the body.
Erythropenia: Erythropenia occurs when there are too few erythrocyte cells in the body. Erythrocytes are red blood cells that carry oxygen through the body.
Eosinophilia: Eosinophilia occurs when there are too many eosinophil cells in the body. Eosinophils are white blood cells that help fight parasites and other foreign substances.
Basophilia: Basophilia occurs when there are too many basophil cells in the body. Basophils are white blood cells that help fight parasitic infections.
1) To measure the number of different kinds of red blood cells and white blood cells present in the bloodstream.
2) To measure the level of hemoglobin in the blood. Hemoglobin is responsible for carrying oxygen around the body.
3) To measure the level of mean corpuscular volume. MCV refers to the average size of all the red blood cells in a sample.
4) To measure the level of mean corpuscular hemoglobin. MCH refers to the average amount of hemoglobin in each red blood cell.
5) To measure the level of reticulocyte count. Reticulocytes are immature red blood cells.
6) To determine the total number of white blood cells in the blood. This includes both the number of neutrophils, which are important for fighting off bacterial infections and the number of lymphocytes, which are important for fighting against viruses.
7) To measure the number of platelets, or thrombocytes, in the blood. These are small fragments of bone marrow that help stops bleeding after an injury.
8) To measure the number of eosinophils, basophils, and monocytes in the blood.
9) To assess the health of the bone marrow, where new blood cells are made.
10) To monitor the effectiveness of treatment for certain conditions. For example, people with leukemia often have their CBC checked before starting chemotherapy.
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Fig: The CBC cheat sheet In our blood, red blood cells (RBCs), white blood cells (WBCs), and platelets are the major cells. Each of these cells conducts major and specific functions. The amount of various types of blood cells is measured in a complete CBC test. Even, one can also get some important insight into other parameters in each blood cell.
What Does Each Abbreviation Mean In A CBC Test?
Complete Blood Count is conducted to assess the overall health of a patient and it is one of the most common tests. It helps physicians to diagnose autoimmune disorders, infections, anemia, and other diseases. Here are some of the common abbreviations in the CBC test –
The main function of red blood cells is to provide your lungs with much-needed oxygen through body tissues and remove carbon dioxide from the body. Here are the recommended normal RBC values – Infant – 4.1 to 6.1 million/µlt Children – 3.8 to 6 million/µlt Men – 4.5 to 5.5 million/µlt Women – 4 to 5 million/µlt High Level – The high level is It indicating smoking, dehydration, pulmonary fibrosis, congenital heart disease, renal cell carcinoma, pulmonary fibrosis, and polycythemia vera.
Drugs increasing RBC levels – Gentamicin, Methyldopa Low Level – Anemia, Bleeding, overhydration, malnutrition, hemolysis, deficiency of erythropoietin, multiple myeloma, leukemia, thalassemia, porphyria, sickle cell anemia Drugs which lower RBC level – Hydantoins, quinidine, chloramphenicol, and drugs for chemotherapy
The Red blood cells contain a protein named hemoglobin. Our blood is made bright red by hemoglobin due to the presence of iron. People living thousands of meters above sea levels and smokers are more likely to have high hemoglobin levels. It is because their body produces more to fulfill the need for oxygen.
However, a low amount of hemoglobin leads to different types of blood diseases like thalassemia and sickle cell disease.
Recommended range Pregnancy – 10-15 g/dL Male – 13.5-16.5 g/dL Female – 12-15 g/dL High Level – Reasons for high level are due to smoking, dehydration, tumors, polycythemia vera, lung disease, erythropoietin abuse, blood doping Drugs causing high hemoglobin count – Iron supplements, erythropoietin Low Level – The low level is due to blood loss, lack of nutrients, sickle cell anemia, renal problems, leukemia, bone marrow suppression, etc.
Drugs causing low hemoglobin count – Antibiotics, aspirin, sulfonamides, anti-neoplastic drugs, trimethadione, doxapram, indomethacin, primaquine, and rifampin.
Also called PCV or packed cell volume, Hematocrit refers to the percentage of a volume of RBCs in the blood. Hence, the result you will get varies by structure, size, and total RBC value. It is important to determine Hct to assess and diagnose a lack of nutrition, blood diseases, and hydration level.
Recommended range Men – 41% to 50% Children – 36% to 40% Women – 36% to 44% Infant – 55% to 68% High level – Some of the common causes include smoking, dehydration, hypoxia, tumors, polycythemia vera, lung diseases, erythropoietin abuse, cor pulmonale, and blood doping.
Drugs which increase levels – Iron supplements Drugs which reduce levels – Antibiotics, aspirin, etc.
There are, generally five different types of white blood cells – lymphocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils, monocytes, and basophils.
Recommended Range – 5000 to 10000 per microliter High Level – Some of the common causes include smoking, infections, inflammatory diseases, leukemia, severe mental or physical stress, tissue damage Drugs causing high level – Heparin, Corticosteroids, epinephrine, beta-adrenergic agonists, lithium, and granulocyte colony-provoking drugs Low Levels – It may cause due to deficiencies in bone marrow, autoimmune disorders, liver problems, viral diseases, spleen issues, radiation therapy, and extreme bacterial infections Drugs causing low levels – Chemotherapeutic medicines, Diuretics, captopril, histamine-2 blockers, antibiotics, quinidine, anti-thyroid medications, terbinafine, chlorpromazine, etc.
Also known as thrombocytes, platelets bind together and circulate in the blood to clot over the blood vessel which is damaged. Also, it is very important to assess platelet count to diagnose the risk of thrombosis in patients.
Recommended range – 150,000 to 400,000 per Micro-liter High Level – Some of the common causes of high level are:
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Drugs causing high platelet – Steroids, romiplostim, immunosuppressants, human IgG Low Level – Some of the common causes of low levels are:
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Drugs causing low platelet – Some of the common drugs include aspirin, chemotherapeutic drugs, anagrelide, hydroxyurea, ranitidine, statins, quinidine, vancomycin, tetracycline, sulfonamides, valproic acid, etc.
In blood tests, reference ranges are, basically, sets of values used to figure out a set of test results by a health professional from blood samples.
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It determines fatty elements in your blood because high cholesterol and triglyceride levels are responsible for a high risk of heart diseases.
CMP (Comprehensive Metabolic Panel)
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This type of protein in your blood delivers oxygen to the cells. It may increase due to poor oxygen, dehydration, increased testosterone levels, lack of thiamin, and insulin resistance.
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There are numerous methods for conducting CBC tests. But, you need to know the procedure correctly so that you don’t get any wrong results. Here we mention some simple steps for performing a complete blood count test:
CBC can give any information about health status and also gives an idea about whether someone is healthy or not. For example, if you notice a low amount of red blood cells, then it means that person might suffer from anemia. Similarly, if you find a high number of platelets, it means that person might be suffering from thrombocytopenia, whereas, if you find a low level of neutrophil, then it means that person might be affected by chronic inflammatory disorders or severe infections.
CBC tests also help us to detect various kinds of bacteria in the bloodstream such as streptococcus, staphylococcus, salmonella, shigella, etc. If you see any abnormality in the CBC report, then you should consult a doctor immediately.
Complete Blood Count, the blood sample is assessed in our partner laboratory. Several automated machines conduct the analysis of your blood sample with precision and reliability.
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Complete Blood Count analysis is a widely used test. It can conduct usually as part of the general screening and routine health exam by a doctor.
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There is a long list of anemia causes. These are simply a few of the widespread causes. Due to the constant loss of blood, the CBC test report may suggest anemia. However, we can use this test to diagnose colon cancer and other types of cancers also. Usually, RDW and MCV indicate some clues if anemia is found.
The Low platelet count may also be one of the common problems found in the CBC test report.
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MPV can show the frequency of making platelets in the bone marrow and how it is released into your blood. Also, blood malignancy or inflammation may be the cause of high platelet count.
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