Question

Your sister Sue has not been feeling well so she went to see her doctor. Her doctor had her go to the lab and have several blood tests done. Sue is anxious to know what is wrong so she picks up a copy of the lab report. Sue comes to you in hopes that you can help her understand the report. The following are the results of the lab report.

                                                Value               Range            

WBC                            H          12                    [4.4-10.5]                   x10   3/mm3

RBC                                         4                      [3.75-5.00]                  x10   6/mm3

Hemoglobin                L          10                    [11.4-14.7]                  G/DL

Hematocrit                              35                    [34.3-45.5]                  %

Platelet count                          300                  [139-361]                    x10   3/mm3

Which values of this part of the report are out of the normal range? And are the values low or high?

Answer 1

The test results of Sue shows that she has a bit higher value of White Blood Cells.Her Hemoglobin levels are lower than the normal range.White blood cells are also called leukocytes and are important cells that help protect the body from infections and pathogens.There are diffrent types of WBCs.Leukocytosis or high WBC more than normal range may be an indication of an infection in the body or immune disorder.Sometimes stress may also cause an increased WBC count.Also some drugs may lead to higher the value of WBC. So to confirm what caused this increased levels,the levels of diffrent types of WBCs can be checked. Lymphocytes, Neurophils, Basophils, Eosnophils,Monocytes levels can be confirmed with a blood test.

Hemoglobin is a protein molecule in RBC that transports oxygen to the body's tissues.Low hemoglobin usually indicates that a person has anemia.The most common reason for this is Iron deficiency.deficiency od Vitamin B12 or folate can also cause anemia.If the symptoms shows tiredness,fatigue or dizziness its due to this type of deficiencies.If more severe symptoms are shown then other conditions have to be checked like autoimmune conditions, liver disease, thyroid disease and inflammatory bowel disease, which may make the person anemic.