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Test Code CBCDIFF Complete Blood Count and Differential

Specimen and Container/Tube

Specimen Type: Whole blood

Preferred Specimen: lavender top

Other Acceptable specimens: not applicable 

Specimen Handling and Transport Instructions

UCMC Onsite Instructions: Collect specimen per standard collection procedure and send to laboratory immediately.

UCMC Offsite and UC MedLab Outreach Instructions: Collect specimen per standard collection procedure and send to laboratory immediately. Specimens must be received within 8 hours. If transport is delayed, refrigerate specimens prior to transport. 

Rejection Criteria

  • Common specimen rejected situations include: incorrect specimen type, insufficient volume, missing or incomplete specimen identifiers, incorrect specimen transport, or specimens outside stability limits. 
  • Frozen or heated specimens will be rejected
  • Clotted or quantity not sufficient specimens are not suitable for testing and will be rejected 

 

Reference Values

Analyte

Age

Sex

Reference Range

WBC

0 days

Male and female

7.4 – 28.0 x103/uL

WBC

1 day

Male and female

6.5 – 30.6 x103/uL

WBC

7 days

Male and female

4.1 – 19.8 x103/uL

WBC

14 days

Male and female

3.8 – 18.5 x103/uL

WBC

1 month

Male and female

3.5 – 17.7 x103/uL

WBC

6 months

Male and female

6.0 – 17.3 x103/uL

WBC

1 year

Male and female

5.5 – 16.8 x103/uL

WBC

2 years

Male and female

5.0 – 15.8 x103/uL

WBC

4 years

Male and female

4.0 – 13.8 x103/uL

WBC

6 years

Male and female

3.7 – 13.0 x103/uL

WBC

8 years

Male and female

3.7 – 12.5 x103/uL

WBC

10 years

Male and female

3.5 – 12.3 x103/uL

WBC

12 years and up

Male and female

3.5 – 11.0 x103/uL

RBC

0 days

Male and female

3.90 – 5.48 x106/uL

RBC

1 day

Male and female

4.00 – 6.57 x106/uL

RBC

7 days

Male and female

3.90 – 6.27 x106/uL

RBC

14 days

Male and female

3.60 – 6.18 x106/uL

RBC

1 month

Male and female

3.00 – 5.38 x106/uL

RBC

2 months

Male and female

2.70 – 4.88 x106/uL

RBC

3 months

Male and female

3.10 – 4.48 x106/uL

RBC

6 months

Male and female

3.70 – 5.28 x106/uL

RBC

2 years

Male and female

3.90 – 5.28 x106/uL

RBC

6 years

Male and female

4.00 – 5.18 x106/uL

RBC

12 years and up

Male

4.47 – 5.91 x106/uL

RBC

12 years and up

Female

3.88 – 5.26 x106/uL

HGB

0 days

Male and female

13.2  - 19.1 g/dL

HGB

1 day

Male and female

14.2 – 22.1 g/dL

HGB

7 days

Male and female

13.2 – 21.1 g/dL

HGB

14 days

Male and female

12.3 – 20.1 g/dL

HGB

1 month

Male and female

9.8 – 17.6 g/dL

HGB

2 months

Male and female

8.8 – 13.7 g/dL

HGB

3 months

Male and female

9.3 – 13.2 g/dL

HGB

6 months

Male and female

10.3 – 13.2 g/dL

HGB

2 years

Male and female

11.3 – 13.2 g/dL

HGB

6 years

Male and female

11.3 – 15.2 g/dL

HGB

12 years and up

Male

13.5 – 17.5 g/dL

HGB

12 years and up

Female

11.5 – 15.5 g/dL

HCT

0 days

Male and female

42 – 60 %

HCT

1 day

Male and female

45 – 67 %

HCT

7 days

Male and female

42 – 66 %

HCT

14 days

Male and female

39 – 63 %

HCT

1 month

Male and female

31 – 55 %

HCT

2 months

Male and female

28 – 42 %

HCT

3 months

Male and female

29 – 41 %

HCT

6 months

Male and female

33 – 39 %

HCT

2 years

Male and female

34 – 40 %

HCT

6 years

Male and female

35 – 45 %

HCT

12 years and up

Male

41 – 53 %

HCT

12 years and up

Female

36 – 47  %

MCV

0 days

Male and female

97.0 – 117.0 fL

MCV

1 day

Male and female

94.0 – 120.0 fL

MCV

7 days

Male and female

87.0 – 125.0 fL

MCV

14 days

Male and female

85.0 – 123.0 fL

MCV

1 month

Male and female

84.0 – 122.0 fL

MCV

2 months

Male and female

76.0 – 114.0 fL

MCV

3 months

Male and female

73.0 – 107.0 fL

MCV

6 months

Male and female

69.0 – 85.0 fL

MCV

2 years

Male and female

74.0 – 86.0 fL

MCV

6 years

Male and female

76.0 – 94.0 fL

MCV

12 years and up

Male and female

81.0 – 99.0 fL

MCH

0 days

Male and female

30 – 36 pg

MCH

1 day

Male and female

30 – 36 pg

MCH

7 days

Male and female

27 – 39 pg

MCH

14 days

Male and female

27 – 39 pg

MCH

1 month

Male and female

27 – 39 pg

MCH

2 months

Male and female

26 – 33 pg

MCH

3 months

Male and female

25 – 34 pg

MCH

6 months

Male and female

23 – 30 pg

MCH

2 years

Male and female

24 – 29 pg

MCH

6 years

Male and female

25 – 32 pg

MCH

12 years and up

Male and female

26 – 33 pg

MCHC

0 days

Male and female

30 – 36 g/dL

MCHC

1 day

Male and female

29 – 37 g/dL

MCHC

7 days

Male and female

28 – 38 g/dL

MCHC

14 days

Male and female

28 – 38 g/dL

MCHC

1 month

Male and female

29 – 37 g/dL

MCHC

2 months

Male and female

29 – 37 g/dL

MCHC

3 months

Male and female

30 – 36 g/dL

MCHC

6 months

Male and female

30 – 36 g/dL

MCHC

2 years

Male and female

31 – 37 g/dL

MCHC

6 years

Male and female

31- 37 g/dL

MCHC

12 years and up

Male and female

32 – 35 g/dL

RDW

16 years and up

Male

<14.3 fL

RDW

16 years and up

Female

<15.0 fL

Platelet

16 years and up

Male and female

150 – 450 x103/uL

MPV

16 years and up

Male and female

9.6 – 12.6 fL

Neutrophil relative

16 years and up

Male and female

39 – 75 %

Lymphocyte relative

16 years and up

Male and female

16 – 47 %

Monocyte relative

16 years and up

Male and female

4 – 12 %

Eosinophil relative

16 years and up

Male and female

0 – 7  %

Basophil relative

16 years and up

Male and female

0 – 2 %

Immature granulocyte relative

16 years and up

Male and female

<0.05 %

Bands relative

16 years and up

Male and female

0 – 6  %

Neutrophil absolute

16 years and up

Male and female

1.12 – 6.72 x103/uL

Lymphocyte absolute

16 years and up

Male and female

0.90 – 3.30 x103/uL

Monocyte absolute

16 years and up

Male and female

0.16 – 0.92 x103/uL

Eosinophil absolute

16 years and up

Male and female

0.00 – 0.60 x103/uL

Basophil absolute

16 years and up

Male and female

0.00 – 0.21 x103/uL

Immature granulocyte absolute

16 years and up

Male and female

<0.04 x103/uL

Band absolute

16 years and up

Male and female

0.00 – 0.66 x103/uL

Critical Values

Analyte

Unit

Low

High

Age

WBC

10³/µL

<1.0

>30.0

All

HCT

%

<20

>60

All

HGB

g/dL

<6.0

>20.0

>22.0 patients <30 days

All

Platelet

10³/µL

<30

>1,000

All

White Cell Differential

<500 neutrophils/µL when WBC is greater than 1000/µL

Blast Cells

>4% from outpatient/emergency room patients

Intracellular organisms and intracellular or extracellular parasites in: blood, CSF, pericardial fluid, peritoneal fluid (paracentesis), pleural fluid, synovial fluid; intracellular and extracellular yeast and pneumocystis in BAL.

Turnaround Time

Turnaround times are relative to the time the specimen is received in the test laboratory. 

 

STAT Turnaround Time: 60 minutes for CBC, 90 minutes for differential 

 

Routine Turnaround Time: 240 minutes for CBC, 480 minutes for differential

 

Testing Schedule: 24/7

CPT Codes

85025 (bundled 85027 and 85004)

LOINC Codes

WBC 6690-2, RBC 789-8, HCT 4544-3, HGB 718-7, MCV 787-2, MCH 785-6, MCHC 786-4, RDW 788-0, PLT 777-3, MPV 32623-1, NEUT 768-2, LYMP 736-9, MON 5905-5, EOS 713-8, BASO 706-2, IGRE 38518-7, ABS NEUT 769-0, ABS LYMP 731-0, ABS MONO 742-7, ABS EOS 711-2, ABS BASO 704-7, ABS IG 51584-1

Volume

Preferred Volume: 4.0 mL

Minimum Volume: 1.0 mL

Specimen Stability

Storage Temperature

Stability

Room temperature

(20 - 25°C)

 24 hours 

Refrigerated

(2 - 10°C)

 24 hours 

Frozen

(-20°C)

not acceptable

Collection Instructions

Collect specimen per standard laboratory collection procedures. 

Test Components

CBC: WBC, RBC, HGB, HCT, MCV, MCH, MCHC, RDW, Platelet Count, MPV

DIFF: absolute and relative results for white blood cells present including neutrophils, lymphocyte, monocyte, eosinophils, basophils, and immature granulocytes. 

Clinical Indications

  • Screening test for various diseases
  • Useful in the diagnosis of disease states such as anemias, leukemias, allergic reactions, viral, bacterial, and parasitic infections. 

Methodology

Sysmex XN and Wright stained ligh microscopy

Synonyms/Search Keywords

CBC, Hemogram, Complete Blood Count

Last Reviewed Date

9/5/2024

Additional Information

Manual and Automated WBC Differentials include percentages and absolute number of white blood cell types, RBC morphology, WBC morphology and platelet estimate. Performed manually or automated per laboratory protocol. Automated differentials that are released without review by technologist only include percentages and absolute number of WBC cell types. 

The percentage of cells reported in a WBC Differential is based on counting 100 white blood cells. If the WBC is >15 x10³/µL, a 200 cell count is performed the percentage of each cell type counted is calculated (extrapolated to 100) and reported with the number of cells counted. When the WBC is very low (<1.5 x10³/µL) less than 100 cells are counted the percentage of each cell type counted is calculated (extrapolated to 100) and reported with the number of cells counted.

Only those cells seen during the count are reported. If the cell type is not reported, there were none of the cell type seen. For example, if 60% Neutrophils, 25% Lymphocytes, 12% Monocytes, 2% Eosinophils, 1% Basophils are reported; then no other cells (reactive lymphs, metamyelocytes, myelocytes, promyelocytes, blasts) were seen.