lab investigation of full blood count and white blood cells Flashcards
describe normal haemopoiesis
blood cell production
bone marrow
long bones
maturation occurs in BM
mature cells within peripheral blood
what is a full blood count
Hb = conc of hb Hct = percentage of blood volume as RBC MCV = average size of RBC MCH = average haemoglobin content of RBC
RDW = range of deviation around RBC size
reticulocyte count
blood film
not just RBC results
white blood cell results = total WBC and differential, neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, basophils, eosinophils
platelets results = platelet count and size
others = warning flags
what does blood film show
confirming numbers
morphology - whether cells are normal
how many samples does a modern full blood count analyser count per day
1600 FBC samples per day
describe WBC differential
FBC processed using optical scanner methods and presented in cytogram where population of cells are displayed in distinct cluster
if the differentials are not displayed correctly, this alerts operator to refer the sample for a blood smear to be examined
automated haematology analyser - advantages
efficient and cost effective = processing of large number of samples
accuracy and precision of quantitative blood test
ability to perform multiple test on single platform
reduced labour requirements
invaluable for accurate determination of red cell indices e.g MCV
automated haematology analyser - disadvantages
flagging of lab test results demand labour intensive manual examination of blood smear
comments on red cell morphology cannot be generated
platelet clumps are counted at single, so low count
expensive with high running cost
