 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Medical Forum / General / General / January 2005Interpreting blood test results
Anyone here know how to interpret blood test results? Here are some to get started (view with FP font)... FBC WBCs 6.2 10*9/L RBCs 5.19 10*12/L HB 16.0 g/dl Red blood cell distribution width 12.6 Platelet count 275 10*9/L etc.. Differential white cell count Neutrophil count 3.10 10*9/L Lymphocyte count 2.41 10*9/L etc.. There is more if anyone can translate this into something meaningful. Thanks, Mike. >Anyone here know how to interpret blood test results? > [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >Thanks, >Mike. Why do you ask to interpret these results? And why did you, or your doctor, take this blood test? It makes a difference if you take a test for screening purposes, or if you have specific complaints. And, why do you give only a part of the results? Again, it depends on the context in which the test is taken - the predictive values are depending on your a priori chances. So, you need to know what gender and age you have, what diseases you have (had), what your complaints are, et cetera. The values you give are within the "normal" range, this probably is mentioned on the report too. "Normal" means 95% of the population. But this does not mean you are healthy at all. Greetings P Med.Stud. >>Anyone here know how to interpret blood test results? >> [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] >>There is more if anyone can translate this into something >>meaningful. >Why do you ask to interpret these results? Because I can't do it myself. >And why did you, or your doctor, take this blood test? To get the results. > It makes a >difference if you take a test for screening purposes, or if you have >specific complaints. >And, why do you give only a part of the results? Because I didn't see the point in taking up bandwidth if there is no-one here who can interpret them. Hence, "There is more if anyone can translate this into something meaningful." > Again, it depends on >the context in which the test is taken - the predictive values are >depending on your a priori chances. So, you need to know what gender >and age you have, what diseases you have (had), what your complaints >are, et cetera. I am a 45 year old male. I cannot possibly remember what (or all) diseases I have had, other than septicaemia and a lung infection, a couple of years ago. >The values you give are within the "normal" range, this probably is >mentioned on the report too. "Normal" means 95% of the population. >But this does not mean you are healthy at all. So they mean precisely sod all? So if I had Typhoid, HIV+, organ damage due to alcohol abuse, an STD, etc., this would not be indicated either way. That is what I suspected. What I need is a full screening for any potential ailment, disease or internal organ failure, et cetera. >>Why do you ask to interpret these results? > >Because I can't do it myself. That's what your doctor is for. Did he just hand you a sheet of paper, or did he say something like "All your blood tests are normal"? >>And why did you, or your doctor, take this blood test? > >To get the results. Normal results are results too. >>The values you give are within the "normal" range, this probably is >>mentioned on the report too. "Normal" means 95% of the population. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >damage due to alcohol abuse, an STD, etc., this would not be >indicated either way. Well, you only posted a few of the blood cytology results. If your white cells are normal in number and kind, you probably don't have a serious infection or leukemia or several other conditions. If your red cells and hemoglobin are normal, you probably don't have any of a large number of conditions that cause anemia. If any of the results were abnormal, the doctor would follow them further to determine the root cause. As for the other conditions you list, further down the report there will be values for various other tests that are abnormal when your liver or kidneys or whatever are in trouble. If they are normal, your liver and kidneys, etc, are probably okay. If you're at risk for HIV or an STD, you should tell the doctor so he can order the special tests that are used to diagnose these conditions. Ditto for typhoid or any other disease not often found in developed countries. So no, they don't mean "sod all". If they are normal, they tend to rule out a large number of medical problems. Any that are significantly abnormal may warrant further investigation. But note that since these tests are based on 95% of healthy people, it's pretty common to have a few that are outside the normal range without it meaning anything. >That is what I suspected. What I need is a full screening for any >potential ailment, disease or internal organ failure, et cetera. There is no such thing. If you have some specific symptoms you can describe them to your doctor and he can investigate. If you just feel crummy, or feel okay but want to know if you are healthy, a set of screening tests like this is a way of spotting many problems, and indicating what's worth following up further. Note that your doctor is more likely to be willing to talk to you and explain things in detail if you don't exhibit an adversary attitude. On Fri, 07 Jan 2005 17:10:47 +0000, Mike <find@reply.to> wrote: >>Anyone here know how to interpret blood test results? >> [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] >>There is more if anyone can translate this into something >>meaningful. This is a normal CBC. It tells us nothing about what diseases you might have - it only tells us some things you don't have. Taken in context with a medical history and physcal exam, and possibly other tests, your blood test might be useful. By itself, it means nothing. HMc > Anyone here know how to interpret blood test results? > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > There is more if anyone can translate this into something > meaningful. Sorry to sound unhelpful, but where did you get the blood test? - Was it a "walk in for a blood test" ? How can you get these results without obtaining any advice at the same time ? BLOOD TEST REFERENCE RANGE CHART Test Reference Range (conventional units*) Acidity (pH) 7.35 - 7.45 Alcohol 0 mg/dL (more than 0.1 mg/dL normally indicates intoxication) (ethanol) Ammonia 15 - 50 ?g of nitrogen/dL Amylase 53 - 123 units/L Ascorbic Acid 0.4 - 1.5 mg/dL Bicarbonate 18 - 23 mEq/L (carbon dioxide content) Bilirubin Direct: up to 0.4 mg/dL Total: up to 1.0 mg/dL Blood Volume 8.5 - 9.1% of total body weight Calcium 8.5 - 10.5 mg/dL (normally slightly higher in children) Carbon Dioxide Pressure 35 - 45 mm Hg Carbon Monoxide Less than 5% of total hemoglobin CD4 Cell Count 500 - 1500 cells/?L Ceruloplasmin 15 - 60 mg/dL Chloride 98 - 106 mEq/L Complete Blood Cell Count (CBC) Tests include: hemoglobin, hematocrit, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, mean corpuscular volume, platelet count, white Blood cell count Please click each to view an individual test value. Copper Total: 70 - 150 ?g/dL Creatine Kinase (CK or CPK) Male: 38 - 174 units/L Female: 96 - 140 units/L Creatine Kinase Isoenzymes 5% MB or less Creatinine 0.6 - 1.2 mg/dL Electrolytes Test includes: calcium, chloride, magnesium, potassium, sodium Please click each to view an individual test value. Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR or Sed-Rate) Male: 1 - 13 mm/hr Female: 1 - 20 mm/hr Glucose Tested after fasting: 70 - 110 mg/dL Hematocrit Male: 45 - 62% Female: 37 - 48% Hemoglobin Male: 13 - 18 gm/dL Female: 12 - 16 gm/dL Iron 60 - 160 ?g/dL (normally higher in males) Iron-binding Capacity 250 - 460 ?g/dL Lactate (lactic acid) Venous: 4.5 - 19.8 mg/dL Arterial: 4.5 - 14.4 mg/dL Lactic Dehydrogenase 50 - 150 units/L Lead 40 ?g/dL or less (normally much lower in children) Lipase 10 - 150 units/L Zinc B-Zn 70 - 102 ?mol/L Lipids: Cholesterol Less than 225 mg/dL (for age 40-49 yr; increases with age) Triglycerides 10 - 29 years 53 - 104 mg/dL 30 - 39 years 55 - 115 mg/dL 40 - 49 years 66 - 139 mg/dL 50 - 59 years 75 - 163 mg/dL 60 - 69 years 78 - 158 mg/dL > 70 years 83 - 141 mg/dL Liver Function Tests Tests include bilirubin (total), phosphatase (alkaline), protein (total and albumin), transaminases (alanine and aspartate), prothrombin (PTT) Please click each to view an individual test value. Magnesium 1.5 - 2.0 mEq/L Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH) 27 - 32 pg/cell Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration (MCHC) 32 - 36% hemoglobin/cell Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV) 76 - 100 cu ?m Osmolality 280 - 296 mOsm/kg water Oxygen Pressure 83 - 100 mm Hg Oxygen Saturation (arterial) 96 - 100% Phosphatase, Prostatic 0 - 3 units/dL (Bodansky units) (acid) Phosphatase 50 - 160 units/L (normally higher in infants and adolescents) (alkaline) Phosphorus 3.0 - 4.5 mg/dL (inorganic) Platelet Count 150,000 - 350,000/mL Potassium 3.5 - 5.0 mEq/L Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) 0 - 4 ng/mL (likely higher with age) Proteins: Total 6.0 - 8.4 gm/dL Albumin 3.5 - 5.0 gm/dL Globulin 2.3 - 3.5 gm/dL Prothrombin (PTT) 25 - 41 sec Pyruvic Acid 0.3 - 0.9 mg/dL Red Blood Cell Count (RBC) 4.2 - 6.9 million/?L/cu mm Sodium 135 - 145 mEq/L Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH) 0.5 - 6.0 ? units/mL Transaminase: Alanine (ALT) 1 - 21 units/L Aspartate (AST) 7 - 27 units/L Urea Nitrogen (BUN) 7 - 18 mg/dL BUN/Creatinine Ratio 5 - 35 Uric Acid Male 2.1 to 8.5 mg/dL (likely higher with age) Female 2.0 to 7.0 mg/dL (likely higher with age) Vitamin A 30 - 65 ?g/dL White Blood Cell Count (WBC) 4,300 - 10,800 cells/?L/cu mm *Please visit our measurement and abbreviation pages. Blood Test Kits View "What Does My Blood Test Mean Pages?" There is more about Blood, indexed by category, Please CLICK HERE. BODY SURFACE AREA CALCULATOR (weight (kg) x 0.425) x (height (cm) x 0.725) 139.315 IDEAL BODY WEIGHT CALCULATOR Male: 50 Kg + (# inches > 5 ft x 2.3) Female: 45.5 Kg + (# inches > 5 ft x 2.3) Anyone here know how to interpret blood test results? Here are some to get started (view with FP font)... FBC WBCs 6.2 10*9/L RBCs 5.19 10*12/L HB 16.0 g/dl Red blood cell distribution width 12.6 Platelet count 275 10*9/L etc.. Differential white cell count Neutrophil count 3.10 10*9/L Lymphocyte count 2.41 10*9/L etc.. There is more if anyone can translate this into something meaningful. Thanks, Mike. http://www.bloodbook.com/ranges.html Normal values one ignores . Abnormal ones can mean a hundred different causes . Eg HB - normal 2-18 . If you result is say 6 , you dont have enough HB to carry oxygen around and it could be due to cancer , poor appetite , chronic disease , parasites like malaria attacking the red cells etc. Anyone here know how to interpret blood test results? Here are some to get started (view with FP font)... FBC WBCs 6.2 10*9/L Normal 4-11 RBCs 5.19 10*12/L HB 16.0 g/dl Normal 12-18 Red blood cell distribution width 12.6 Platelet count 275 10*9/L etc.. Differential white cell count Neutrophil count 3.10 10*9/L Lymphocyte count 2.41 10*9/L etc.. There is more if anyone can translate this into something meaningful. Thanks, Mike. > http://www.bloodbook.com/ranges.html > Normal values one ignores . Really ? Were this an examination answer, that comment alone is sufficient to fail the paper. >Abnormal ones can mean a hundred > different causes . Eg HB - normal 2-18 . If you result is say 6 , you > dont have enough HB to carry oxygen around and it could be due to > cancer , poor appetite , chronic disease , parasites like malaria > attacking the red cells etc. 2-18? Let's assume that you actualy mean 12-18 g/l. An Hb of 17.5 in a newborn is to be expected. An Hb of 17.5 in a fourteen year old girl is VERY abnormal and warrants immediate urgent investigation. >An Hb of 17.5 in a newborn is to be expected. >An Hb of 17.5 in a fourteen year old girl is VERY abnormal and warrants >immediate urgent investigation. So what about mine then? I'm a 45 year old bloke and my Hb is 16, so what does that mean? >>An Hb of 17.5 in a newborn is to be expected. >>An Hb of 17.5 in a fourteen year old girl is VERY abnormal and warrants [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > I'm a 45 year old bloke and my Hb is 16, so what does that mean? Whilst at first sight this would seem "in the normal range" for a male of that age, you've made no mention of your medical history, clinical symptoms & previous results. If you are a chap with an Hb of 16g/dl who's Hb has previously consistently run at 13g/dl, then alarm bells might ring. You have Hb of 16g/dl - this result is pretty meaningless on its own. There are perfectly healthy people and terminally ill people with an Hb of 16g/dl. Presumably you're "ill" in the first place to warrant having a blood count ? A "normal" blood test result doesn't rule out disease. You REALLY can't take these numbers in isolation. Interpretation of a blood test is more than a set of numbers - it involoves clinical assessment of the patient too. >>>An Hb of 17.5 in a newborn is to be expected. >>>An Hb of 17.5 in a fourteen year old girl is VERY abnormal and warrants [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >Whilst at first sight this would seem "in the normal range" for a male of >that age, you've made no mention of your medical history, "I cannot possibly remember what (or all) diseases I have had, other than septicaemia and a lung infection, a couple of years ago." >clinical symptoms Achy pains in the abdomen and kidneys. >& previous results. These are the previous and current results. >If you are a chap with an Hb of 16g/dl who's Hb has previously consistently >run at 13g/dl, then alarm bells might ring. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > >Presumably you're "ill" in the first place to warrant having a blood count ? Not "ill", just concerned. >A "normal" blood test result doesn't rule out disease. You REALLY can't take >these numbers in isolation. Interpretation of a blood test is more than a >set of numbers - it involoves clinical assessment of the patient too. "I'm a 45 year old bloke and my Hb is 16, so what does that mean?" >>clinical symptoms > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > These are the previous and current results. > "I'm a 45 year old bloke and my Hb is 16, so what does that > mean?" The Hb of this level doesn't really cast any light on the symptoms you've described. >>>clinical symptoms >> [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >The Hb of this level doesn't really cast any light on the symptoms you've >described. Interesting. My doctor said that reading was "good". >>> "I'm a 45 year old bloke and my Hb is 16, so what does that >>> mean?" [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Interesting. My doctor said that reading was "good". I think if you ask him he'll mean "good" in that it's probably not indicative of anything untoward as opposed to "bad" where it might be. > "I'm a 45 year old bloke and my Hb is 16, so what does that > mean?" It means nothing. HMc >> "I'm a 45 year old bloke and my Hb is 16, so what does that >> mean?" > >It means nothing. As I thought. Please see my other post about blood pressure. |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.