Blood count - Finger prick
Blood values
In the blood count, the following blood values are measured:
- Haemoglobin (Hb) - Anemia - General symptoms of tiredness
- Leucocytes - White blood cells - Infections
- Platelets - Preventing Blood Loss
- Erythrocytes - Red blood cells - Anemia
- Hematocrit - Anemia - Fluid Shortage
- MCV (blood count)
- MCH (blood count)
- MCHC (blood count)
- New as of 01-01-2024: RDW-CV (Redd Cell Distrubution Weight).
WBC (leukocytes) White blood cells
Increased in infections, inflammation and cancer. Decreased with medication use (e.g., methotrexate), with some autoimmune diseases, with some serious infections, and with bone marrow failure.
RBC (erythrocytes) Red blood cells
Decreased in anemia. Increased when there is increased production and when fluid is lost due to diarrhea, dehydration or burns.
Hemoglobin
The normal values (reference values) of hemoglobin depend, among other things, on age and sex.
An elevated hemoglobin may result from:
- dehydration
- increased production of red blood cells in the bone marrow
- serious lung diseases
- Prolonged stay at high altitude (>2000 meters)
Lowered hemoglobin may result from: - iron deficiency or lack of vitamins folic acid and B12
- hereditary haemoglobin disorders such as sickle cell anaemia or thallassemia
- genetic disorders of red blood cells
- liver decomposition (liver cirrhosis)
- excessive bleeding
- increased breakdown of red blood cells
- kidney diseases
- chronic inflammatory diseases
- malfunctioning bone marrow (aplastic anemia)
Hematocrit
Lowered: Lowered hematocrit indicates anemia, caused for example by iron deficiency. Other causes of a lowered hematocrit may be vitamin deficiency, bleeding, liver disease, or cancer. Further testing is needed to find the cause of the anemia.
Elevated: Elevated hematocrit is usually caused by dehydration. Intake of adequate fluids usually solves this problem. Another cause of high hematocrit can be the disease polycytemia vera. In this case, too many red blood cells are produced in the bone marrow. Elevated hematocrit also occurs when the lungs do not function properly, causing the body to receive too little oxygen. To compensate for this lack of oxygen, the bone marrow makes more red blood cells and this leads to increased hematocrit.
Platelets
Increased: Infections and inflammation, iron deficiency and spleen removal can temporarily increase the platelet count. Sometimes a high platelet count occurs for no apparent reason and without consequences. Also, in the case of certain bone marrow diseases (called myeloproliferative diseases), the platelet count may be elevated. With these bone marrow diseases, both a bleeding tendency and the easier formation of a clot (thrombosis) can occur.
Decreased: A low platelet count can be caused by decreased production of platelets in the bone marrow or by accelerated breakdown in the blood. In either case, the platelet count may become so low that spontaneous bleeding occurs.
MCV
An excessively high MCV may indicate anemia due to vitamin B12 and/or folic acid deficiency.
An MCV that is too low may indicate anemia due to iron deficiency. Also in patients with thalassemia (abnormality of the hemoglobin protein in the red blood cells) the MCV is too low.
MCH
MCH is the abbreviation for the English term mean corpuscular hemoglobin. The MCH test determines the amount of hemoglobin (oxygen-transporting protein) in red blood cells, providing information about red blood cells and the distribution of oxygen in the body.
The MCH is not measured directly, but calculated from the amount of hemoglobin and the number of red blood cells. The MCH value says something about the degree of hemoglobin filling of the red blood cells. The test is part of the complete blood test.
Abnormal MCH values occur in people with anemia or abnormal red blood cells.
MCHC Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration.
May be decreased if the MCV is lowered. An increase depends on the amount of hemoglobin that fits into a red blood cell
This is a measure of the variation in size of red blood cells.
The RDW value is an important part of a complete blood count. It helps diagnose and monitor various health problems, such as:
Anemia (Anemia): A high RDW can indicate various types of anemia, such as iron deficiency or vitamin B12 deficiency.
Vitamin or Mineral Deficiencies: Abnormalities in RDW may be related to deficiencies in certain nutrients.
Chronic Diseases: In some cases, changes in RDW may be related to chronic diseases or inflammatory processes.
RDW is measured in a standard blood test and is expressed as a percentage. A higher percentage indicates more variation in red blood cell size, which may indicate various medical conditions or the need for further investigation.
This examination (without RDW) is also part of the National Health Check and the General Medical Check-up
