Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Sample Required?
A blood sample collected from a vein in your arm or by a finger-prick (children and
adults) or heel-prick (newborns)
How is it used?
The test is used to:
• detect and measure the severity of anaemia (too few red blood cells) or
polycythaemia (too many red blood cells),
• monitor the response to treatment, and
• help make decisions about blood transfusions.
When is it requested?
Haemoglobin measurement is part of the full blood count (FBC) (which is requested
for many different reasons) and before operations when a blood transfusion is
anticipated. The test is also repeated in patients who have ongoing bleeding problems.
• dehydration,
• excess production of red blood cells in the bone marrow,
• severe lung disease, or
• several other conditions.
• iron deficiency
• inherited haemoglobin defects
• bone marrow failure
• cirrhosis of the liver (during which the liver becomes scarred),
• bleeding,
• vitamin and mineral deficiencies,
• kidney disease,
• other chronic illnesses or
• cancers that affect the bone marrow.
Haemoglobin levels peak around 8 a.m. and are lowest around 8 p.m. each day.
Living in high altitudes increases haemoglobin values. This is your body's response to
the decreased oxygen available at these heights.
Haemoglobin levels are slightly lower in older men and women and in children.
How is it used?
Conditions or drugs that weaken the immune system, such as HIV infection or
chemotherapy, cause a decrease in white blood cells. The WBC count detects
dangerously low numbers of these cells.
When is it requested?
A WBC count is normally ordered as part of the full blood count (FBC), which is
requested for a wide variety of reasons. A WBC count also may be used to monitor
recovery from illness. Counts that continue to rise or fall to abnormal levels indicate
that the condition is getting worse. Counts that return to normal indicate
improvement.
A decreased WBC count is called leukopenia. It can result from many different
situations, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or diseases of the immune
system. A count of 3.0–5.0x109/L cells would be considered mild leukopenia.
Pregnancy in the final month and labour may be associated with increased WBC
levels.
If you have had your spleen removed, you may have a persistent mild to moderate
increased WBC count.
The WBC count tends to be lower in the morning and higher in the late afternoon.
WBC counts are age-related.
On average, normal newborns and infants have higher WBC counts than adults. It is
not uncommon for the elderly to fail to develop leukocytosis as a response to
infection.
There are many drugs that cause both increased and decreased WBC counts.