(From June 2017 Paediatric Pearls Newsletter: Last in the “decoding the FBC” series by Dr Xanna Briscoe and Prof Irene Roberts for the time being)
Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin (MCH) is the amount of haemoglobin per red blood cell. MCHC is an estimate of the concentration of haemoglobin in a given number of packed red blood cells.
MCHC = (Hb[note]Hb:Haemoglobin[/note] ÷ HcT[note] HcT: haemotocrit or packed cell volume[/note]) x 100
Normal in children is 32-34% (adults 28-36%) depending on the lab
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Chronic AnaemiaIron DeficiencyThalassaemia |
spherocytosisfolic acid deficiencyVit B12 deficiencyburns patientssickle cell disease |