Red blood cell indices

Red blood cell indices are blood tests that provide information about the hemoglobin content and size of red blood cells. Abnormal values indicate the presence of anemia and which type of anemia it is.[1]

Red blood cell indices
Purposeinformation about the hemoglobin content and size of red blood cells

Mean corpuscular volume

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Mean corpuscular volume (MCV) is the average volume of a red blood cell and is calculated by dividing the hematocrit (Hct) by the concentration of red blood cell count.[citation needed]

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  • Normal range: 80–100 fL (femtoliter)

Mean corpuscular hemoglobin

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Mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) is the average amount of hemoglobin (Hb) per red blood cell and is calculated by dividing the hemoglobin by the red blood cell count. [citation needed]

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  • Normal range: 27-31 pg/cell

Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration

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Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) is the average concentration of hemoglobin per unit volume of red blood cells and is calculated by dividing the hemoglobin by the hematocrit. [citation needed]

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  • Normal range: 32-36 g/dL

Red blood cell distribution width

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Red blood cell distribution width (RDW or RDW-CV or RCDW and RDW-SD) is a measure of the range of variation of red blood cell (RBC) volume, yielding clues about morphology.[citation needed]

Erythropoietic precursor indices

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The reticulocyte production index (RPI) or corrected reticulocyte count (CRC) represents the true significance of the absolute reticulocyte count to provide some reflection of erythropoietic demand and supply. The immature reticulocyte fraction (IRF) goes a step further to cast more light on the same question.[citation needed]

Worked example

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Measure Units Conventional units Conversion
Hct 40%
Hb 100 grams/liter 10 grams/deciliter (deci- is 10−1)
RBC 5E+12 cells/liter 5E+6 cells/μL (micro is 10−6)
MCV = (Hct/100) / RBC 8E-14 liters/cell 80 femtoliters/cell (femto- is 10−15)
MCH = Hb / RBC 2E-11 grams/cell 20 picograms/cell (pico- is 10−12)
MCHC = Hb / (Hct/100) 250 grams/liter 25 grams/deciliter (deci is 10−1)

References

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