The routine blood test is based on the values of white blood cell count, red blood cell count, platelets, hemoglobin to determine if there is a systemic disease, or anemia, hematologic disorders, etc. It may also reflect the hematopoietic function of the bone marrow.
When a blood count is abnormal, it usually indicates that one or more of these values are not within the normal range and often indicate certain diseases.
When there is an increase in red blood cells, it can be classified as a physiological increase or a pathological increase. The increase is mainly due to psychiatric factors, compensatory red blood cell proliferation, etc., while the pathological increase is mostly due to massive burns, pulmonary heart disease, emphysema, tumors, and true erythrocytosis. If decreased, it is mostly seen in women during pregnancy and lactation, due to fetal and infant growth and development needs, or in the elderly due to hematopoietic dysfunction, or due to leukemia, acute hemorrhage, and synthetic disorders.
Hemoglobin is primarily a reflection of the degree of anemia and can also show abnormal blood work if it is not within normal limits.
White blood cells, if elevated, tend to occur in pregnancy, after feeding, after strenuous exercise, and in newborns, while acute septic infections, leukemia, acute hemorrhage, and uremia can also lead to elevated white blood cells. If leukocytopenia is present, it may be associated with certain infectious diseases, hypersplenism, cirrhosis, aplastic anemia, etc.
The increased platelets are mostly associated with acute infections after acute major blood loss and hemolysis, true erythrocytosis, multiple myeloma, and malignancy, while the decrease may be due to leukemia, hypersplenism, etc.