Everyone knows prevention is better than cure, and this year Valencia’s health authorities started a massive health screening programme for the over-forties. This included carrying out blood and urine tests on subjects to hopefully nip illnesses like diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol in the bud.
When you go for laboratory tests, you are invariably handed an envelope containing mysterious paperwork listing all kinds of words and numbers you can’t understand. Even if you understand what the items in the breakdown are, how many of you know what the normal levels are for leucocytes or iron?
Don’t panic This guide is for interest only. Your doctor is the person to interpret your blood tests. Laboratories can make mistakes, so if your results have changed dramatically have the test done again. hMost lab values need to be interpreted along with other clinical and laboratory data in order to develop a meaningful diagnosis. Very seldom will only one value give all of the answers. Laboratory values differ according to age, sex, current medications, etc. Therefore, the interpretation of these values needs to be done with these other parameters in mind.
5 = high levels 6 = low levels
PLATELETS (thrombocytes) PLAQUETAS
Platelets are cellular fragments necessary for the blood to clot. Normal value: 120-450 per mm3. High levels can cause clots or thrombosis. 5urinary infections, rheumatic fever and rheumatoid arthritis 6certain types of anaemia, folic acid and vitamin B12 deficiency
MCH= MCHC – (HCM=CHC) These are used to help diagnose types of anaemia and leukaemia. Normal value 27/72 pg/cell
Red blood cell sedimentation rate test – VSG (Velocidad de sedimentación globular) Normal value: 1ª tour: 2-8mm 5 Infections following a heart attack, renal problems and autoimmune disease
VCM The mean corpuscular (cell) volume of red globules. Normal value: 76-10mg3.
(VPM – Mean platelet count) Average value 150,000-350,000 platelets per micro litre
BLOOD WORK – HEMATOLOGÍA
Hemoglobin - HgB (hemoglobina) Captures oxygen and transports it to the tissues. Normal value: 13-18 gr for men and 11.5-16.5 gr for women. 5 can indicate chronic bronchitis or pulmonary emphysema 6 can indicate anaemia, kidney and liver problems
Hematocrit - HCT (hematocrito) Measures the volume of red blood cells in blood. Normal value: 40-52% 5can indicate dehydration, post operative patient 6anaemia and serious haemorrhage
Red blood cells – (Hematíes) Average value: 4.5-6 million per mm3 in men and 4.5 million in women. 5heart disease, obstructive pulmonary and kidney disease 6Anaemia
Leukocytes – (Leucocitos) White blood cells that fight infection. Normal value 4,000-10,000 per mm3 5 bacterial infections 6viral infections or autoimmune disease
White cell differential (Fórmula leucocitaria) This counts 100 white cells and differentiates them by type:
Neutrophils – (Neutrófilos): normal value: 42-75% 5bacterial infection 6flu, German measles and typhoid fever
Basophils – (Basófilos) Normal value: 0-1 5diabetes, leukaemia, colitis 6allergies
Eosonophils – (Eosinófilos) Normal value: 0-2 5asthma, rash and chicken pox 6heart attack, diabetic coma
Lymphocytes – (Linfocitos): 20-51. They make antibodies. 5mononucleosis, mumps, Crohn’s disease 6AIDS, lupus, arthritis
Monocytes – (Monocitos) normal value: 1.5-10 5leukaemia, breast, ovarian or gastric tumours 6Stress or chronic infections
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