Discussions By Condition: I cannot get a diagnosis.
Help understading lab results?
- Posted By: EstherDrabo
- August 18, 2009
- 06:29 PM
I had some bloods done and I got the results but I cant understand them. The results list the normal ranges in brackets and all the results are normal except for a few. I'll be discussing them with my doctor but until then does anyone know how to read blood tests?
Glucose
sample type: serum
blood sugar: 4.6 (3.6-6.1)
comments: B
:confused:The glucose is normal but what does "comments: B mean"?
Full Blood Count
sample type: blood
WBC: 6.6 (4.0-11.0)
RBC: 4.75 (3.80-5.80)
haemoglobin: 12.0 (11.5-16.5)
Packed Cell Volume: 0.369 (0.360-0.470)
MCV: 77.8 (78.0-99.0)
MCH: 25.3 (27.0-33.0)
What could cause the MHC to be slightly low? Or is it not low enough to really matter?
MCHC: 35.5 (32.0-36.0)
RBC Dist Width: 17.4 (11.5-14.5)
What could cause this to be high?
platelets: 286 (140-400)
lymphocytes: 1.8 (1.1-4.0)
monocytes: 0.4 (0.2-1.1)
Nuetrophils: 4.2 (1.7-7.5)
eosinophils: 0.10 (0.04-0.50)
basophils: 0.00 (0.00-0.40)
LFT
sample type: Serum
bilirubin (total): 13 (3-22)
ALT: 27 (9-52)
ALK phosphate: 78 (38-126)
gamma-GT: 20 (8-78)
U/E+CREAT
sample type: Serum
UREA: 1.5 (2.5-7.1)
sodium: 143 (137-145)
potassium: 4.3 (3.6-5.0)
creatinine: 66 (70-133)
What causes low urea and creatinine?
ESR
sample type: serum
ESR: 27 (1-20)
comments: Note: New Reference Range For ESR
(I don't know if that comment means my ESR is high and 1-20 is the new range or its normal and the new range is different than 1-20)
FERRITIN
sample type: serum
iron: 4 (5-148)
What causes iron serum to be low?
THYROID FUNC.
sample type: serum
FREE T4: 21.4 (10.3-2.5)
TSH: 1.87 (0.40-4.00)
VITAMIN B12
sample type: serum
vit B12: 192 (193-982)
FOLATE
sample type: serum
folic acid: 2.4 (3.0-17.0)
I'm guessing that low B12 and folic acid just means I should make sure I'm eating foods that contain them?
Thanks to anyone who can help:)
1 Replies:
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Well, no mystery here. The roadsigns would point toward early macrocytic anemia. RBC differential width is basically a measurement of the variation between mature and immature red blood cells. If elevated, it means that more immature RBCs are evident. The elevation in ESR, while generally a sign of inflammation, is consistent with anemia among other findings. We also see a decreased MCV, or mean corpuscular volume, again consistent with anemia. The low creatinine would tend to suggest a decrease in muscle mass in general and is noted in persons who are on crash diets or protein-restricted diet. MCH will be low if MCV is low. Your B12 and folate are also at the borderline deficient level and in most cases, replacement therapy is warranted in levels of B12 below 200. The deficiency SHOULD NOT be treated with folic acid replacement therapy, but rather B12. The noteworthy lab result is the Free T4 and I would suggest that you re-check your notation of this result and whether it's an accurate representation. With the noted TSH, your T4 would more likely be 2.14 and the range is .8 to 2.7ng/dl (10.3-35pmol/L) depending upon the lab. Again, at first blush this looks like the lab results of a patient who is on a protein-restricted diet with signs of mild macrocytic anemia. Best regards, J Cottle, MDJCottleMD 580 Replies Flag this Response
