Complete Blood Panel?

For non-medical people, “complete blood panel” could sound so complicated and frightening. In fact, this is just a blood test to evaluate a person’s health and to diagnose diseases. Complete blood panel is also known as full blood count (FBC), complete blood count (CBC) and hemogram. It is usually a part of a routine medical examination.

A complete blood panel will examine the three types of blood cells: white blood cells (WBC), platelets, and red blood cells (RBC). This test will also examine hematocrit and hemoglobin levels. If there is an abnormal value in your blood test result, it could mean an underlying medical problem. Medical laboratories may have slightly different normal values, but they are almost the same.

WBCs are categorized into neutrophils, monocytes, basophils, eosinophils and lymphocytes. The normal range for WBC is between 4,300-10,800 cells per cubic millimeter (cmm) of blood. An abnormally high WBC may indicate infection, cancer, leukemia and other illnesses. If you are taking certain drugs such as diuretics, prednisone or antibiotics, your WBC may be low. Also, WBC is low if you have bone marrow failure and some autoimmune disorders. Higher level of neutrophils indicates infection, while an abnormally high eosinophil concentration could possibly mean that you have an allergy.

The normal range for platelet level is between 150,000 to 400,000 cells per cmm. Platelets play significant role in blood coagulation or clotting. You have an increased risk for bleeding if your platelet level is abnormally decreased. Platelet count is low in some disorders including leukemia, systemic lupus erythematosus and pernicious anemia. People who are undergoing chemotherapy also have low platelet count. Some people have elevated platelet count even if they do not have any diseases. Meanwhile, the normal RBC count is between 4.2 million cells to 5.9 million cells per cmm of blood. The RBC count may be low if you have anemia. If you have significant fluid loss due to diarrhea, burn or dehydration, the RBC count may be too high.