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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Friday, February 10, 2012
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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Friday, February 10, 2012
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Hemophilia and Inherited Bleeding Disorders |
Hypochromia06/09/2005 |
My 7 year old daughter and I both had blood work done recently. On both of our lab reports it said `slight hypochromasia.` What is this? I am a 41 year old female. My lab results were all in range except MCV and MCH which are always slightly lower than the range plus my RBC were slightly higher. My doctor sent the results in the mail and said everything is normal. Thank you
In answer to your question, the term hypochromasia is used to describe the "color" of red blood cells on a stained blood smear. This is part of a CBC examination. Less "color" can be noted in cells when a patient has anemia or insufficient blood cells in the circulation. The notation of "slight" probably means this change was only noted occasionally and that is why your physician may not have made any comment.
The MCV refers to the size of the red blood cells. These can be decreased in size when an iron deficiency anemia is present or with some hereditary red cell disorders. The MCH is an estimate of the amount of hemoglobin present in the red blood cells. This can be reduced with an anemia.
None of these tests should be viewed in isolation. Just because a result may be outside the normal range does not mean that an illness or disease is present. For some people those values may be their normal value. A change in these values over time could be a reason to discuss this with your health care provider.
I would encourage you to discuss these results with your health care provider if you are concerned.
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Patricia M Carey, MD Associate Professor College of Medicine University of Cincinnati |
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