What is Complete Blood Count?
Complete blood count (CBC) is an important initial test which checks the number and type of blood cells. It is helpful in understanding the overall health condition and diagnosing disease conditions such as anaemia, infection, inflammatory conditions and bleeding disorders.
We, at Dr. Dangs Lab counter check all the CBCs manually after processing in automated counters for accurate reporting. This also helps the pathologist to identify any incidental finding that guides the physician to take appropriate treatment decisions.
Differential Leucocyte Count
There are primarily five types of white blood cells, each with different functions: neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils and basophils. The differential reveals if these cells are present in normal proportion to one another, or if there is presence of immature or abnormal cells. This information is helpful in diagnosing specific types of illnesses that affect the immune system.
- Neutrophil. Neutrophils increase in number and respond rapidly in inflammatory processes, tissue injury and bacterial/fungal infection.
- Lymphocyte. Lymphocytes are the WBCs that secrete antibodies, and kill virus infected cells and tumour cells. Increased levels usually indicate viral infections.
- Monocyte. Monocytes are a type of WBCs that have an important role in inflammation and fighting infections. Increased monocytes are usually indicative of viral infections.
- Eosinophil. Eosinophils are a type of WBCs that have the ability to fight allergic conditions. Normally your body has a very small number of eosinophils but they increase in number if you have allergic disorders (eg. asthma), parasitic or fungal infections or some skin diseases.
- Basophil. Basophil’s makeup only a small portion of your WBCs but play an important role in inflammatory and allergic reactions of your body. They release histamine and other chemicals. Histamine is the chemical that causes symptoms of allergy