An interpretation on abnormal finding of CBC

Park, Seong Kyu

Abstract

A complete blood cell count (CBC) is one of most common test requested by a doctor that gives information about the cells in a patient's blood. These days, counting the cells in a patient's blood is generally automated by use of an automated analyzer. Because an automated cell counter samples and counts so many cells, the results are very precise. In addition to counting, automated analyzers also measure the amount of hemoglobin in the blood and red blood cell indices including mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and red blood cell distribution width (RDW). These informations are very helpful to a physician who is trying to identify the cause of a patient's disease. If the red cells are smaller or larger than normal, or if there's a lot of variation in the size of the red cells, these data can help guide the direction of further testing and expedite the diagnostic process so patients can get the treatment they need quickly. Therefore, we need to pay more attention to the interpretation of CBC results.