4 y/o CBC results....help reading them. - Page 2
MOve to Yuma Proving Ground. Great docs here.
I'd go as high as I had to to get this rectified.
Answers:
Hi...my husband is in the USMC, and we are on an Air Force base. We just moved here but have already had some problems with the clinic here. My 4 y/o had her check up labs done and I told the doc I was concerned b/c she's got circles under her eyes and is very pale at times. She's also been having headaches at night. This was over a month ago. At military bases you don't get the results unless something's wrong or you specifically request them. I went to the clinic today to get her shots (couldn't get them at the time) and requested a copy (for my own amusement I suppose, but I had my doubts that they were normal). The tech/nurse whatever guy said hold on...came back WITH THE RESULTS and said that he talked to the doc and he can't give them to me b/c some of them were high...abnormal even. So, I said, he's had over a month. (Then he starts trying to say it takes a long time at the lab..I said 4 days MAX, he agreed...then on and on with the excuses.) Well, he said he would have the doc call me to discuss the results. I had him a bit flustered (I'm a worried mom with a dead beat doc) so I said "Give me the results so I can see them myself) so he hands me the paper and I walk off. I ask to speak to the patient rep and she goes to speak with the doctor, he tells her that the results were normal. period. that's all she can say. I say, well, I have them right here, and it says they aren't! She doesn't know what to say except make another appt. GRRRRR!
If there is anyone out there who can decipher these high levels and other things, I would greatly appreciate it!
Urinalysis :Abnormalities were: Appearance : Cloudy *normal is clear*
Leuko Est : Trace (Hi) *normal is negative)
Bacterial results say: 20,000 COL/ML mixed G+ organisms, Greater than 3 organisms, probable contamination.
CBC: Abnormalities were: Platelets : 365 (Hi) *normal is 130-350
MONO/100 WBC: 12.0 (Hi) *normal is 0-5
MONO # : 1.0 (Hi) *normal is .2-.6
I know that most of them aren't WAY off...but what does it mean? Mono/100 WBC..that one seems very high in comparison. Any phlebotomists? Hematologists? Skilled CBCers? Thanks in advance...
Amy Amy,
"Normal Values" of Lab results on children are slightly different from adults. I think the lab form that they gave you were based on what normal findings in adults are. Platelet counts are actually based on thousand results. For example, when your results say 365, what they mean is 365,000. The normal platelet count for children is aprox 150,000 - 450,000, so that is not necessarily a high reading. The way the WBC is listed is also confusing. Usually, 5,000 - 10,000 in children is considered normal. I think what they mean is that her WBC is 12,000. Sometimes an infection or virus can cause the WBC (White Blood Count) to be elevated and it is not necessarily something significant. However, I am concerned over the symptoms that your child has been having. Has she been pale for a long time? Did they check her hematocrit and hemoglobin level? Is she ever lethargic? You need to either pay out of pocket to see a good pediatrician or go to the top commanding officer. Was this physician that saw your daughter even a pediatrician? IF there is no pediatrician on base, contact your insurance company and demand that they pay for a qualified pediatrician to see your daughter to evaluate her and possibly run some tests.
Good luck!
Answers:
Thanks for your replies...yes, the values are in the thousands..I didn't clarify that part of the results. Any input on the Mono/ 100 WBC?
Her provider is a pediatrician, but I'm not happy with the quality of care at all. I think he should have called me and told me about the labs, not just shoved them off for over a month. We're in the process of finding pediatrician off-base. Thank you all!
Answers:
I'm a medical technologist.....a laboratory professional.
Your daughter's results do not look abnormal whatsoever. Certainly as someone previously mentioned, children do have different "normals" than adults do. So unless this laboratory differentiates on the report, they may have just printed out her results with adult normals.
Furthermore, any healthy person who ever has a CBC or chemistry profile will almost NEVER have all their results in the normal range across the board. You've got to keep in mind that "normal" ranges are established by averages in a given population. So everyone will likely have a result or two slightly out of range from time to time. Or maybe their normal is slightly lower or higher all the time....you've got to remember those are like the ones who helped set the normal ranges (averages) in the first place.
Urine result appears to be contamination. Basically, a clean catch was not obtained, hence lots of different growth on the plate. If there is a urinary tract infection, it is usually attributed to one major organism. Leuko Esterase is a rapid test that suggests an infection....or contamination.
I have as a reference range for platelet counts for children being: 150,000 to 450,000 per mm3. Adults' normals don't go as high, which does suggest her lab work was reported with adult normal ranges.
"Mono" is the identification of a monocyte...a type of white blood cell. Mono/100 WBC looks to me like they did a manual differentiation (where they put the blood on a microscope, stain it, and manually count and classify the white blood cells. When you do this, you count 100 white blood cells) So out of the 100 that were counted and classified...12 were monocytes. This was likely done because the automated count of 1 was high enough to "reflex" the manual diff to make the Med Tech take a gander under the scope and make sure the instrument's results were verifiable. So yes, I do agree that this particular result is out of range, but I can't say that it was high enough to be alarmed about. He obvioulsy didn't think so, either.
Hope that makes you feel better about this doctor. I have to say I agree on those results you provided. A truly abnormal monocyte result could be in the 100's for cancer. So when something is truly abnormal, it stands out A LOT...not a little.
I'd go as high as I had to to get this rectified.
Answers:
Hi...my husband is in the USMC, and we are on an Air Force base. We just moved here but have already had some problems with the clinic here. My 4 y/o had her check up labs done and I told the doc I was concerned b/c she's got circles under her eyes and is very pale at times. She's also been having headaches at night. This was over a month ago. At military bases you don't get the results unless something's wrong or you specifically request them. I went to the clinic today to get her shots (couldn't get them at the time) and requested a copy (for my own amusement I suppose, but I had my doubts that they were normal). The tech/nurse whatever guy said hold on...came back WITH THE RESULTS and said that he talked to the doc and he can't give them to me b/c some of them were high...abnormal even. So, I said, he's had over a month. (Then he starts trying to say it takes a long time at the lab..I said 4 days MAX, he agreed...then on and on with the excuses.) Well, he said he would have the doc call me to discuss the results. I had him a bit flustered (I'm a worried mom with a dead beat doc) so I said "Give me the results so I can see them myself) so he hands me the paper and I walk off. I ask to speak to the patient rep and she goes to speak with the doctor, he tells her that the results were normal. period. that's all she can say. I say, well, I have them right here, and it says they aren't! She doesn't know what to say except make another appt. GRRRRR!
If there is anyone out there who can decipher these high levels and other things, I would greatly appreciate it!
Urinalysis :Abnormalities were: Appearance : Cloudy *normal is clear*
Leuko Est : Trace (Hi) *normal is negative)
Bacterial results say: 20,000 COL/ML mixed G+ organisms, Greater than 3 organisms, probable contamination.
CBC: Abnormalities were: Platelets : 365 (Hi) *normal is 130-350
MONO/100 WBC: 12.0 (Hi) *normal is 0-5
MONO # : 1.0 (Hi) *normal is .2-.6
I know that most of them aren't WAY off...but what does it mean? Mono/100 WBC..that one seems very high in comparison. Any phlebotomists? Hematologists? Skilled CBCers? Thanks in advance...
Amy Amy,
"Normal Values" of Lab results on children are slightly different from adults. I think the lab form that they gave you were based on what normal findings in adults are. Platelet counts are actually based on thousand results. For example, when your results say 365, what they mean is 365,000. The normal platelet count for children is aprox 150,000 - 450,000, so that is not necessarily a high reading. The way the WBC is listed is also confusing. Usually, 5,000 - 10,000 in children is considered normal. I think what they mean is that her WBC is 12,000. Sometimes an infection or virus can cause the WBC (White Blood Count) to be elevated and it is not necessarily something significant. However, I am concerned over the symptoms that your child has been having. Has she been pale for a long time? Did they check her hematocrit and hemoglobin level? Is she ever lethargic? You need to either pay out of pocket to see a good pediatrician or go to the top commanding officer. Was this physician that saw your daughter even a pediatrician? IF there is no pediatrician on base, contact your insurance company and demand that they pay for a qualified pediatrician to see your daughter to evaluate her and possibly run some tests.
Good luck!
Answers:
Thanks for your replies...yes, the values are in the thousands..I didn't clarify that part of the results. Any input on the Mono/ 100 WBC?
Her provider is a pediatrician, but I'm not happy with the quality of care at all. I think he should have called me and told me about the labs, not just shoved them off for over a month. We're in the process of finding pediatrician off-base. Thank you all!
Answers:
I'm a medical technologist.....a laboratory professional.
Your daughter's results do not look abnormal whatsoever. Certainly as someone previously mentioned, children do have different "normals" than adults do. So unless this laboratory differentiates on the report, they may have just printed out her results with adult normals.
Furthermore, any healthy person who ever has a CBC or chemistry profile will almost NEVER have all their results in the normal range across the board. You've got to keep in mind that "normal" ranges are established by averages in a given population. So everyone will likely have a result or two slightly out of range from time to time. Or maybe their normal is slightly lower or higher all the time....you've got to remember those are like the ones who helped set the normal ranges (averages) in the first place.
Urine result appears to be contamination. Basically, a clean catch was not obtained, hence lots of different growth on the plate. If there is a urinary tract infection, it is usually attributed to one major organism. Leuko Esterase is a rapid test that suggests an infection....or contamination.
I have as a reference range for platelet counts for children being: 150,000 to 450,000 per mm3. Adults' normals don't go as high, which does suggest her lab work was reported with adult normal ranges.
"Mono" is the identification of a monocyte...a type of white blood cell. Mono/100 WBC looks to me like they did a manual differentiation (where they put the blood on a microscope, stain it, and manually count and classify the white blood cells. When you do this, you count 100 white blood cells) So out of the 100 that were counted and classified...12 were monocytes. This was likely done because the automated count of 1 was high enough to "reflex" the manual diff to make the Med Tech take a gander under the scope and make sure the instrument's results were verifiable. So yes, I do agree that this particular result is out of range, but I can't say that it was high enough to be alarmed about. He obvioulsy didn't think so, either.
Hope that makes you feel better about this doctor. I have to say I agree on those results you provided. A truly abnormal monocyte result could be in the 100's for cancer. So when something is truly abnormal, it stands out A LOT...not a little.