CBC with Intro to Anemia Flashcards
CBC is done with what type of blood? Tub color?
EDTA-anticoagulated whole blood
purple tube
What cell types are counted in a CBC?
- white blood cells (WBC)
- Red blood cells (RBC)
- platelets = thrombocytes
What are the RBC Indices?
- Mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH)
- mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC)
- Red cell distribution width (RDW)
What are the components of a CBC?
- WBC count
- Automated differential
- Absolute individual leukocyte counts
- RBC count (RBC)
- Platelet count (PLT)
- Hemoglobin (HGB)
- Hematocrit (HCT)
- Mean corpuscular volume (MCV)
- RBC Indices
- Mean Platelet Volume (MPV)
What cell types are included in the leukocyte differential?
- granulocytes
- neutrophils
- bands
- immature precursors
- lymphocytes
- monocytes
- eosinophils
- basophils
- other
- blasts
- unclassified cells
What is the difference between the differential cell count vs absolute cell count?
differential is like percentages = relative numbers
absolute WBC are what matter
What are the differences between automated vs manual differentials?
- Automated
- count thousands of cells
- highly accurate with normal WBC
- no band counts
- Manual
- count 100 cells
- less accurate than medicine
- best for abnormal WBC morphology
What suffix indicate an increase in WBC?
- cytosis
- philia
What suffix indicate an decrease in WBC?
-penia
What word means increased platelets?
thrombocytosis (thrombocytothemia)
What word means decreased platelets?
thrombocytopenia
What word means increased RBCs?
polycythemia
erythrocytosis
What word means decreased RBC?
anemia
The CBC gives you what value for hemoglobin? It is measured in what units?
total hemoglobin in a given unit of blood (not per cell)
g/dL
Hemoglobin value can be artificially changed by what variable? influenced by
improper venipuncture
What is hematocrit & how is it measured?
“packed cell volume”
the volume percentage of RBC in whole blood
measured in %
What is mean cellular volume & what unit is it measured in?
average size of RBC in a sample of blood
measured in femtoliters
What is Mean Cellular Hemoglobin (MCH)& what unit is it measured in?
the weight (mass) of hemoglobin in the average WBC
measured in picograms
What numbers determine microcytic, normocytic & macrocytic sizes of RBC?
How is Mean Cellular Hemoglobin (MCH) measured?
calculated from the Hgb concentration and the RBC count
What is Mean Cellular Hemoglobin Concentration (MCHC) and what units is it measured in?
the concentration of hemoglobin in the average RBC
measured in g/dL
How do you calculate Mean cellular hemoglobin concentration?
calculated from the Hgb and Hct
How would you describe cells with low MCHC?
hypochromic cells; increased central pallor on smear
What information does the Red Blood Cell Distribution Width (RDW) tell you?
measure of variation in size of the erythrocytes in a sample
the higher the RDW, the more variation in RBC size
What are the 2 ways to measure RDW?
- RDW standard deviation (RDW-SD), reported in fL
- RDW coefficient of variation (RDW-CV), reported in %
What is the mean platelet volume (MPV) and what unit is it measured in?
measure of the average size of the platelets; indirect measure of the “age” of platelets
fL
MPV is analogous to what erythrocyte measurement?
MCV
What is the difference between absolute anemia & relative anemia?
- absolute anemia (true)
- decreased red blood cell mass
- relative anemia
- due to increased plasma volume
What types of situations create relative anemia?
pregnancy
excessive hydration
macroglobinemia
What are the universal signs of anemia regardless of the type?
pale
shortness of breath
heart palpitations
weakness
What are the 3 general causes of anemia?
blood loss (acute or chronic)
red blood cell destruction (intracorpuscular or extracorpuscular)
insufficient production (nutritional deficiency or bone marrow suppression)
What are iron disorders that cause anemia? What kind of anemia?
microcytic hypochromic anemia
iron deficiency
chronic disease
neoplasia
Other than disorders of iron metabolism, what are the other three causes of microcytic hypochromic anemia?
disorders of heme synthesis (sideroblastic anemia)
disorders of globin synthesis (thalassemia)
fragmentation hemolysis
What are the causes of macrocytic anemia with normal RDW?
myelodysplastic neoplasms
aplastic anemia
What are the causes of macrocytic anemia with high RDW?
folate, vitamin B12, or copper deficiency
medication effect
alcohol abuse
liver disease
hypothyroidism
autoimmune hemolytic anemia
What are the causes of macrocytic anemia with high RDW?
folate, vitamin B12, or copper deficiency
medication effect
alcohol abuse
liver disease
hypothyroidism
autoimmune hemolytic anemia
Spherocytes are most commonly seen in what type of anemia?
hemolytic anemias
Schistocytes are most commonly seen in what type of anemia?
microangiopathic hemolytic anemia
What are the terms to indicate if the bone marrow is producing immature red blood cells & if this is related to anemia?
hyperproliferative (hemolytic anemia)
hypoproliferative (chronic disease)
What is the term for variation in size of red blood cells?
anisocytosis
What is the term for variation in shape of red blood cells?
poikilocytosis
What is the term for variation in size & shape of red blood cells?
anisopoikilocytosis
