Complete Blood Count (CBC) Flashcards
CBC tables
- Leukocytes
- Platelets
- Erythrocytes
- Plasma Total Protein
- RBC Morphology
Plasma analysis
- Plasma total protein by refractometry
- Plasma appearance (hemolysis- red, lipemia- white, yellow- bilirubin)
- Chemistry panel
What does total protein by refractometry tell you?
- High levels can indicate inflammation or infection
- Low levels can indicate kidney issues or lack of nutrients’
What components are included in erythrogram?
- RBC count
- Hgb (hemoglobin)
- Hct (hemocrit)- get from RBC count and MCV
- PCV (packed cell volume)- Only get when you can’t get Hct from the sample
- MCV (mean cell volume)
- MCH (mean cell hemoglobin)
- MCHC (mean cell hemoglobin concentration)
- RDW (red cell distribution width)
- Retics (reticulocyte percent and absolute count)
- RPI (reticulocyte production index; only in dogs)
When will you likely have a PCV on a blood panel?
- When the patient is anemic
- Likely won’t have hematocrit
What does RBC count indicate?
The number of erythrocytes in circulation
What does hemoglobin (Hgb) indicate?
The hemoglobin concentration per litre of total blood volume
Units: g/L
What does hematocrit (Hct) indicate?
The percentage of the total blood volume that is occupied by RBCs
Units: L/L
What does Mean Cell volume (MCV) indicate?
- The average RBC size
- Units: fL
What does mean cell hemoglobin (MCH) indicate?
The average amount of hemoglobin per RBC
What does mean cell hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) indicate?
The average concentration of hemoglobin per RBC
What does red cell distribution width indicate?
Coefficient of variation of RBC size
Ex. if patient is anemic, there may be more immature RBCs in circulation. They tend to be larger.
What does Retics indicate?
- The amount of reticulocytes present
- Measured only in anemia to evaluate bone marrow response
- Need a special stain
What does RPI indicate?
- Only in dogs
- Adjusts the retics count based on anemia severity
- Assess adequacy of regenerative response
