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What Does the following Test Result Mean?
My husband has a low red blood cell count and a high white blood cell count. I The RBC has constantly been under 7. Six months ago it was 13. He is not bleeding anywhere internally and has had 4 units of blood in the past 6 weeks. He is scheduled to receive 2 more units this week. We have come to the conclusion that his body may not be making enough red blood cells. What could all of this mean? We are desperate for any answer or idea as to what can be the problem.
Tue, 17 Jan 2017
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
I am sorry to hear that your husband is not feeling well.
With a history of low red blood cell count and an elevated white cell count, his doctors may need to do additional blood tests along with other investigations.
A reticulocyte count, which looks at the number of ' young' blood cells in the body would determine if he is making enough. Normally , if the body is able, when a red blood cell count is low, the reticulocyte count is increased as the body tries to make more and more red blood cells.
If for some reason, it can't the reticulocyte count is low.
If it is low, the doctors may want to consider, taking a look at the bone marrow where the different components of the blood are made to see if there is a problem here.
The treatment would depend on the findings
I hope this helps
I am sorry to hear that your husband is not feeling well.
With a history of low red blood cell count and an elevated white cell count, his doctors may need to do additional blood tests along with other investigations.
A reticulocyte count, which looks at the number of ' young' blood cells in the body would determine if he is making enough. Normally , if the body is able, when a red blood cell count is low, the reticulocyte count is increased as the body tries to make more and more red blood cells.
If for some reason, it can't the reticulocyte count is low.
If it is low, the doctors may want to consider, taking a look at the bone marrow where the different components of the blood are made to see if there is a problem here.
The treatment would depend on the findings
I hope this helps
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