Table of Contents
What are the different RBC indices?
The indices include: Average red blood cell size (MCV) Hemoglobin amount per red blood cell (MCH) The amount of hemoglobin relative to the size of the cell (hemoglobin concentration) per red blood cell (MCHC)
What are RBC indices used for?
Red blood cell (RBC) indices are part of a complete blood count, a group of tests that measures various parts and features of your blood. The results of RBC indices are used to diagnose different types of anemia.
What are RBC indices and their formula?
RBC is per million cells. • MCV = Hct × 10/RBC (84-96 fL) •Mean corpuscular Hb (MCH) = Hb × 10/RBC (26-36 pg) •Mean corpuscular Hb concentration (MCHC) = Hb × 10/Hct (32-36%) A rapid method of determining whether cellular indices are normocytic and normochromic is to multiply the RBC and Hb by 3.
What is RBC indices MCV?
Mean corpuscular volume (MCV) measures the average red blood cell volume, meaning the actual size of the cells themselves. A normal range for MCV is between 80 and 96 femtoliters per cell.
What causes low MCHC?
What causes low MCHC? The most common cause of low MCHC is anemia. Hypochromic microcytic anemia commonly results in low MCHC. This condition means your red blood cells are smaller than usual and have a decreased level of hemoglobin.
What does it mean if MCHC is high?
A high MCHC means that hemoglobin is more concentrated than usual and may occur in a few ways. For instance, hemoglobin becomes more concentrated when red blood cells break down. MCHC is often increased in people who smoke. 10 MCHC may also be falsely increased due to cold agglutinin disease.
What does it mean when your RBC is high?
A high RBC count may be a result of sleep apnea, pulmonary fibrosis, and other conditions that cause low oxygen levels in the blood. Performance-enhancing drugs like protein injections and anabolic steroids can also increase RBCs. Kidney disease and kidney cancers can lead to high RBC counts as well.
How do you read RBC indices?
Red blood cell (RBC) indices are part of the complete blood count (CBC) test….These test results indicate the type of anemia:
- MCV below normal. Microcytic anemia (may be due to low iron levels, lead poisoning, or thalassemia).
- MCV normal.
- MCV above normal.
- MCH below normal.
- MCH normal.
- MCH above normal.
What is MCV normal range?
A normal MCV range is roughly 80–100 fl . If someone’s MCV level is below 80 fl, they will likely develop or have microcytic anemia. Alternatively, if their MCV levels are greater than 100 fl, they could experience macrocytic anemia.
What causes high RBC levels?
A high RBC count could be caused by a number of health conditions or health-related factors, including: smoking. congenital heart disease. dehydration (for example, from severe diarrhoea) low blood oxygen levels (hypoxia)
What causes a high RBC count?
A high RBC count may be a result of sleep apnea, pulmonary fibrosis, and other conditions that cause low oxygen levels in the blood. Performance-enhancing drugs like protein injections and anabolic steroids can also increase RBCs . Kidney disease and kidney cancers can lead to high RBC counts as well.
What are the symptoms of high RBC?
If you have a high RBC count, you could experience symptoms such as: fatigue. shortness of breath. joint pain. tenderness in the palms of the hands or soles of the feet. itching skin, particularly after a shower or bath. sleep disturbance.
What does an elevated RBC mean?
High red blood cells count may result from impaired ability of the cells to carry oxygen. Elevated RBC value occurs at high altitudes due to low ambient oxygen levels. Strenuous exercises can also cause enhanced red blood cells production because increased muscle mass requires more oxygen.