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Blood count
Thefullbloodcount(FBC)isacommontestthatcanhelptodiagnoseawiderangeofillnesses, infectionsanddiseases.Thedoctortakesabloodsample,usinganeedleinsertedintoaveininthe handorcrookoftheelbow.Thebloodsampleiscollectedinsideaspecialvialthatcontainsa chemicaltopreventthebloodfromclotting.Thesampleissenttoalaboratoryandputintoa machineforanalysis. TheFBCtestlooksforabnormalitiesintheblood,suchasunusuallyhighorlownumbersofblood cells.Ifanabnormalityisfound,thedoctorwillusuallyarrangefurtherdiagnosticteststo determinetheunderlyingcauseoftheabnormality.

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Test procedure
Inmostcases,nospecialpreparationisneededbeforethetest.Theprocedurenormallytakes placelikethis: Atthesurgery,youareaskedtositorliedown. Yourarmisbandedwithatourniquettoincreasebloodvolumeintheveins.Thedoctor, nurseortechnicianmayaskyoutoclenchandunclenchyourfisttohelpswellyourveins withblood. Theinjectionsiteiswipedwithanalcoholpreparationtoreducetheriskofinfection. Thedoctorinsertstheneedleintoaveinanddrawstheblood.Thebloodmaybecollected insideasyringeorvial.Somepatientsexperiencediscomfortduringthisprocedurebutthis isusuallyminimal. Oncethebloodsamplehasbeentaken,thedoctorasksyoutopressgauzeorcottonwool againsttheinjectionsitetominimisebleeding.Theinjectionsiteiscoveredwithan adhesivedressing.Youmayhaveminorbruisingattheinjectionsiteforadayortwo.

Blood explained
Themaincomponentofblood(60%)istheliquidcalledplasma.Bloodcellsaccountfortheother 40percent.Thebloodcellsinclude: Red blood cellsknownaserythrocytes.Everyredbloodcellcontainshaemoglobin,a complicatedproteinthatcarriesoxygen.Haemoglobincontainsiron,whichisimportantto carryoxygenaroundthebody. White blood cellsknowncollectivelyasleukocytes.Thesearecellsoftheimmune systemthatfightinfection.Thedifferenttypesofwhitebloodcellsincludelymphocytes, eosinophils,monocytes,neutrophilsandbasophils. Plateletsthesehelptoclotthebloodtostopbleeding.

Blood assessment
Thefullbloodcounttest: Countsthetotalnumberofredcells,whitecellsandplateletsinthesample Determinestheratioofredcellstotheplasma(haematocritorpackedcellvolume) Determinesthecountofeachofthewhitecellsub-sets Calculatesthemeanhaemoglobinlevelintheredcells(meancellhaemoglobin) Measuresthemeansizeoftheredcells(meancellvolume) Checksthesizeandshapeofthebloodcells(bloodsmear).

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Frequently detected abnormalities in an FBC

Apersonsresultsobtainedfromabloodcountarecomparedtochartsthatlistthenormalrangeof numberandratioforeachtypeofbloodcell.Aresultaboveorbelowthenormalrangemay indicateanabnormality. Manyillnesses,diseasesorinfectionsotherthantheoneslistedbelowcancauseanabnormalFBC result.Abnormalitiesofthebloodsamplemayinclude: Red blood cells and haemoglobinlowlevels(anaemia)maysuggestnotenoughiron inthediet,bloodlossorcertainchronicdiseases.Highlevels(polycythaemia)maysuggest polycythaemiavera,kidneydisease,chroniclungdiseaseorphysiologicalchangesdueto livinginareasofhighaltitude. Red blood cell to plasma ratioalowerthannormalratioofredbloodcellstothe plasmasuggeststhepersonmayhaveanaemia.Theoppositefindingsuggeststhatthe personmaybedehydratedorhastoomanyredcells(polycythaemia). White blood cellslowlevels(leucopaenia)maysuggestthepersonhasaviralinfection, bonemarrowdiseaseorhasbeenexposedtochemoorradiotherapy.Highlevels (leucocytosis)maysuggestbacterialinfectionoraninflammatorydisease. Plateletslowlevels(thrombocytopenia)maybetheresultoftakingsomedrugsormay leukaemia,HIVoranautoimmunedisorder.Highlevels(thrombocythaemia)maysuggest thepresenceofabonemarroworinflammatorydisease.

Yourdoctormayarrangefurtherteststohelpdeterminethecauseoftheabnormality.Askyour doctorforfurtherinformationaboutthesetests.

Blood smear
Abloodsmearmeansthatathinfilmofyourbloodsampleisexaminedunderamicroscope.A bloodsmearcanreveal: Abnormalsizeorshapeofcells,whichmaysuggestadiseasesuchassicklecellanaemia Thepresenceofblood-borneparasitessuchasmalaria.

This test is not always accurate

TheFBCtestisnotfoolproofanderrorssometimesoccur.Ifthishappens,thedoctorwillwantto repeatthetest.Errorsmayinclude: Failureoftheequipmentforexample,thebloodclotsinthevial Incorrectlabellingofthesample Contaminationofthesample Alcoholintheblood.

Where to get help

Yourdoctor AustralianRedCross,NationalDonorInformationLineTel.131495

Things to remember

Thefullbloodcount(FBC)testlooksforabnormalitiesintheblood,suchasunusuallyhigh orlownumbersofbloodcells. Thiscommonbloodtestcanhelptodiagnoseawiderangeofillnesses,infectionsand diseases. Yourdoctormayarrangefurtherteststohelpdeterminethecauseoftheabnormality.

This page has been produced in consultation with, and approved by:

AustralianCentreforBloodDiseases

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