CBC & CBC w/diff

Nursing Students General Students

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Specializes in CVICU.

Easy question for all you veteran students :)

What values are reported in a CBC test and a CBC w/diff?

TIA!

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Specializes in er, pediatric er.

I think that a CBC has red cells, white cells, and platlets. The CBC with differential breaks down the white cells into neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eiosinophils, and basophils. I think this right without looking it up.

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Specializes in OB, M/S, HH, Medical Imaging RN.
I think that a CBC has red cells, white cells, and platlets. The CBC with differential breaks down the white cells into neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eiosinophils, and basophils. I think this right without looking it up.

CBC also has hemoglobin and hematocrit and other things like MCV (mean cell volume) which tells you how plump the cell is (which means nothing to me)

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Specializes in CVICU.

So does this look about right?

CBC

RBC count

WBC count

Hemoglobin

Hematocrit

Mean cell volume

Mean cell hemoglobin

Mean cell hemoglobin concentration

And the CBC w/diff is the same as above but breaks out the wbc's & platelets?

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Specializes in OB, M/S, HH, Medical Imaging RN.

Yes that would be exactly correct!

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Specializes in Critical Care/ICU.
CBC also has hemoglobin and hematocrit and other things like MCV (mean cell volume) which tells you how plump the cell is (which means nothing to me)

Increased MCV can sometimes reflect alcoholism or intake of too much alcohol.

About ten years ago during a routine visit to my doc she discussed an increase in my mcv and asked me if I drink frequently or if someone in my family does. I very rarely drink at all now, but back ten years ago I used to have a beer every now and then, but nothing near out of control or alcoholism.

There is alcoholism in my family however and my doc said that frequently there will be a familial increase in mcv if there is alcoholism in the family whether a person consumes alcohol or not. I don't remember any of the mechanisms or details but she said that this increase is also related to the likelihood of someone having problems with alcohol when there is already an alcoholic in the family.

So I am prone to alcoholism according to my doctor and so are my brothers and cousins.

I think this is pretty interesting and worthy of storing as a piece of cbc info in a spare brain cell. :)

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