Blood Test Interpretation Flashcards
What is a Full Blood Count (FBC)?
Test to check the types and numbers of cells in the blood, including red blood cells, white blood cells, haemoglobin, neutrophils and platelets.
What types of cells do FBCs test?
- Haemoglobin
- White blood cells
- Red blood cells
- Neutrophils
- Platelets
What is haemoglobin, tested in FBCs?
- Protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen in the blood
- Gives blood its red colour
What is the normal range of haemoglobin levels in men?
132-173 g/l (grams per litre)
What is the normal range of haemoglobin levels in women?
117-155 g/l (grams per litre)
What are the implications if haemoglobin levels are low in an FBC?
- Anaemia (iron deficiency, iron is used to produce red blood cells, which help store and carry oxygen in the blood)
- Blood loss
- Haemodilution (an increase in the fluid content of blood leading to a lower concentration of red blood cells)
What are the implications if haemoglobin levels are high in an FBC?
- Polycythaemia (or erythrocytosis, means having a high concentration of red blood cells in your blood)
- Dehydration (it lowers the fluid volume in your blood relative to red blood cells, which contain haemoglobin)
What are White Blood Cells, tested in FBCs?
- Defence against infections
- Includes neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils and basophils
What is the normal range of White Blood Cell count for men?
3.7-9.5
What is the normal range of White Blood Cell count for women?
3.9-11.1
What are the implications of low White Blood Cell count?
- Following chemotherapy
- Steroid therapy
- AIDS
What are the implications of high White Blood Cell count?
- Viral infections
- Leukaemia
- Asthma
- Organ damage
What are neutrophils?
- Type of white blood cell that acts as the body’s first line of defence
- They capture and destroy invading microorganisms
What is the normal range of neutrophils?
2-7.5
What are the implications of a low amount of neutrophils?
- Following chemotherapy
- Steroid therapy
- Viral infections
- B12 deficiency
What are the implications of a high amount of neutrophils?
- Viral infection
- Use of cytotoxic drugs treating leukaemia
- Inflammatory trauma/bleeding
- Burns
What is the function of platelets?
Clot formation occurs when platelets and blood protein fibrin combine
What is thrombocytopenic?
A condition that occurs when the platelet count in the blood is too low. Platelets are tiny blood cells that are made in the bone marrow from larger cells. When you are injured, platelets stick together to form a plug to seal your wound. This plug is called a blood clot.
People with low platelets are at a greater risk of bleeding.
What is thrombocytosis?
- High platelet count
- From infection or autoimmune disease
- More likely to cause dangerous clots in blood vessels leading to heart attack or stroke
What is the normal range of platelet count?
150-400
What are the implications of low platelet count?
- Anaemia
- Bone marrow infiltration
- Pancytopenia (deficiency of all three cellular components of the blood (red cells, white cells, and platelets))
What are the implications of a high platelet count?
- Infection
- Trauma
What is the function of C-Reactive Protein (CRP)?
- Protein that is indicative to bacterial infection
- CRP levels help monitor the severity of inflammation
What is the normal range of CRP?
<10 mg/l
What are the implications of a high CRP level?
- Infection
- Lupus
- Crohns disease
- Ulcerative colitis
What is U&Es?
- Urea & Electrolytes
- Gold topped bottle
What is tested in U&Es test?
- Urea
- Creatinine
- Albumin
- Sodium
- Potassium
- Calcium
- Phosphate
What is urea?
- Metabolic waste that results from cellular metabolism (breakdown of proteins)
- Found in urine, blood, perspiration, milk and bile
- The urea travels from your liver to your kidneys through your bloodstream. Healthy kidneys filter urea and remove other waste products from your blood. The filtered waste products leave your body through urine.
What is the normal range of urea in a U&Es test?
2.5-6.5 mmol/l
What are the implications of low urea levels?
- Low protein diet
- Immediately post haemodialysis
What are the implications of high urea levels?
- Acidosis (a condition in which there is too much acid in the body fluids, pH <7.36)
- Renal insufficiency
- Severe dehydration