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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 |
|
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 |
<0.50 % |
|
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 |
|
White Cell Differential |
<500 neutrophils/µL when WBC is greater than 1000/µL |
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|
Blast Cells |
>4% from outpatient/emergency room patients |
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|
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. |
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Turnaround Time
Turnaround times are relative to the time the specimen is received in the test laboratory.
STAT Turnaround Time: 90 minutes
Routine Turnaround Time: 480 minutes
Testing Schedule: 24/7
CPT Codes
85004
LOINC Codes
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
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 light microscopy
Synonyms/Search Keywords
Diff, White cell differential
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.
Last Reviewed Date
8/12/2024