Patient's question:
A thorough blood routine examination of the child revealed a platelet distribution width of 8.5, which is 6 points lower than normal, an average hemoglobin content of 22.6, which is 5 points lower than normal, an average red blood cell volume of 71.2, which is 10 points lower than normal, and a red blood cell count of 5.93, which is 1.4 points higher than normal. Will there still be anemia or could it be thalassemia?Doctor's answer:
In the detailed results of a complete blood count, the three key indicators are white blood cell count (WBC), hemoglobin level (HGB), and platelet count (PLT), while the other indicators are secondary. Generally, if the secondary indicators are slightly abnormal but the key indicators are normal, it is not a concern. Since hemoglobin does not increase, there is no anemia. However, both the mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) are low, indicating microcytic hypochromic red blood cells, which may suggest a possible Mediterranean anemia gene carrier. It is recommended to first test serum iron. If it is normal, the likelihood of testing for the thalassemia gene is high.