Question

Distinguish between abnormal and normal results with the results below and explain each scenario. 1. A 6 year old has a hematocrit of 36%. Is that normal? 2. A 54 year old patient has a WBC count of 13000/mm3. Is it high or low? 3. A 23 year old has a hematocrit of 32% and hemoglobin of 10 g/dl. Are these values high or low? What might this patient’s diagnosis be? 4. Another patient has a platelet count of 142,000/mm3. Is this considered high, low or normal. Should this result concern the doctor about a bleeding disorder?

Answer 1

1. The normal hematocrit value for a 6 year old is between 35% -45%. So, his value is normal .

2. The WBC's are normal for the patient because the normal count between 4000 - 11000

3. Both hemoglobin and hematocrit are low for this patient( normal hematocrit - 42%-54% and hemoglobin is 13.5 -17gm /dl ). He might be having anemia .

4. The platelet count are slightly below the normal range ( 150000-450000) . No, this should not concern the doctor about a bleeding disorder .