It is necessary to go with an empty stomach for the extraction of blood. No previous appointment is necessary, the extractions are made from 8:00h – 10:30h from Monday to Friday (children under 5 years old, please consult in advance).
The results are delivered within 24 hours.
The hemogram is the part of the blood test that evaluates various parameters of the blood, such as red blood cells, defense cells or white blood cells, as well as platelets and clotting factors.
These are the specific values that are studied in the basic hemogram:
- Red series: the number of red blood cells that are in the blood, the percentage of blood that they occupy, the amount of hemoglobin that each one has on average, its shape and volume, among other parameters. They are analyzed:
- Red blood cells. This is the total number of red cells in the blood, which ranges from 4.5-5.9 million/mm³ in men to 4-5.2 million/mm³ in women.
- Hematocrit. It is the percentage of red blood cells volume in relation to total blood volume, whose values are 41-53% in men and 35-46% in women.
- Hemoglobin. This is the protein in red blood cells that transports oxygen, whose levels are 13.5-17.5 g/dl in men and 12-16 g/dl in women.
- Mean corpuscular volume (MCV). It evaluates the average size of red blood cells, which ranges from 80 to 100 ml.
- Mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH). Amount of hemoglobin that red blood cells have on average, which ranges from 27 to 33 pg.
- White series: its study allows us to assess states of infection or immune disorders. The values are not differentiated according to gender and are expressed both in total numbers and in percentages of the type of leukocytes. The most common parameters studied are:
- Leukocytes: total number of white blood cells in the blood; their values usually range from 4,000-10,000/mm³
- Neutrophils: a type of leukocytes that generally rises with bacterial infections; their reference values are 2,000-7,500/mm³ or 40-75%.
- Lymphocytes: a class of white blood cells that are elevated especially in viral infections and that produce antibodies; their normal values are 1,500-4,000/mm³ or 20-45%.
- Monocytes: a type of leukocytes that once active becomes a macrophage, which is responsible for phagocytizing, that is, “eating” several microorganisms; its reference values are 200-800/mm³ or 2-10%.
- Eosinophils: a class of leukocytes that are activated by allergic reactions or the presence of microorganisms that cannot phagocyte; their reference values are 40-400/mm³ or 1-3%.
- Basophils: a class of leukocytes also involved in the management of allergic reactions; their reference values are 10-100/mm³ or less than 1%.
- Thrombocytopenic series: when we want to evaluate the patient’s coagulation capacity with a hemogram, there are several parameters that we evaluate:
- Platelets. The analysis indicates the total number of these cells in the blood, whose reference parameters are between 150,000 and 400,000 per mm³.
- Activated partial thromboplastin time, TTPA, APTT or cephalin time. It evaluates one of the coagulation pathways, known as the intrinsic pathway, and its reference values range from 20 to 40 seconds.
- Prothrombin time, TP or PT. It evaluates the time it takes for a clot to form in the blood; its normal value ranges from 10 to 12.5 seconds.
- Fibrinogen. In a fibrin precursor protein, which forms the mesh to which platelets bind to form the clot and whose normal values are 200-400 mg/dl.
- The ESR or red blood cell sedimentation rate. Its elevation can be due to a variety of origins, such as infection, an inflammatory process or cancer. It is a good tool in preventive medicine. Its alteration is only an indicator that it is advisable to carry out more tests, taking as a reference all other values, the clinical history and the intuition of the medical professional.
