Slide made of my blood | Arthritis Information

I had my repeat blood test today to check my WBC and neutrilphils. Last test was 13.5 and 10,544 respectively. I'm not sure what the doctor asked for because besides a vial they made a slide of my blood. Does anyone have a clue? Perhaps some of your questions can be answered at labtestonline/blood smear.
[quote]

A peripheral blood smear is a snapshot of the cells that are present in the blood at the time that the sample is obtained. To create a blood smear, a single drop of blood is spread in a thin layer across a glass slide, dried, and then stained with a special dye. Once the stain has dried, the slide is evaluated under a microscope by a laboratorian.

The drop of blood on the slide contains millions of RBCs, thousands of WBCs, and hundreds of thousands of platelets. Under the microscope, the stained WBCs can be easily seen and counted to estimate the number of each type of cell present. In addition, one can compare their size, shape, and general appearance to the established appearance of “normal” cells. It is possible to distinguish between the five different types of WBCs and to determine their relative percentages by counting 100 consecutive cells. During this examination, one can also evaluate the size, shape, and color (indicators of hemoglobin content) of the RBCs and also estimate the number of platelets present.[/quote]

Thanks! I think he wrote manual count- that would make sense! I just saw this post. Manual counts are done when there is something flagged in an automated differential. It is indicated when the WBC count is elevated like yours has been to evaluate the overall size and shape of cells. If the hematology instrument flags for example, a myelocyte which is an immature white cell normally only found in marrow...then a manual diff has to be done by a tech and then by a pathologist to verify the results. It is also used to do a platelet estimate and to study morphology of your red cells. (size and shape should corespond with MCHC, MCV, and MCH to be specific)

This was probably done to verify that the counts were going down and not a machine error.

Bob

Thanks Bob. I expect a copy of my results in the mail by the end of the week. Do you think they will spell it out on there or make a call to the doctor?I think they will interpret and report the results to the doc but generally we aren't allowed to give our opinion as to what we think is wrong. Like if I do a dip and a microscopic on a urine from a patient that clearly has aUTI, I can't tell the doc that. He/She has to look at the results and then make that call. I would take a look at the results and then make a call to the doc to ask what he thinks they mean. If I had to guess I'd say it's whatever is up with your jaw causing the elevation as it seems ever so slight. If you feel like it PM me with the counts of the rest of the cells in the CBC. Lymphocytes, monocytes, basophils, and eosinophils. The latter two shouldn't be present in high numbers at all and if they are then you have bigger problems to worry about as eos are only usually elevated with parasitic infection OR allergic reaction and basos...are well sort of a mystery really but can elevate in RA patients.

Bob