Resources for the Hematologist: Interpretive Comments and Selected Reference Values for Neonatal, Pediatric, and Adult Populations

Appendix Contents

• Red Blood Cell Testing

  • Estimated Blood Volumes (Plasma Volume and Red Blood Cell Mass)

  • Complete Blood Count (Red Blood Cell) Parameters

  • Red Blood Cell Distribution Width

  • Reticulocyte Count (Absolute and Percentage)

  • Immature Reticulocyte Fraction

  • Reticulocyte Hemoglobin Equivalent

  • Haptoglobin

  • Plasma Hemoglobin

  • Hemoglobin F and Hemoglobin A2

  • Sickle Cell Screen (Hemoglobin S Solubility Test)

  • Ferritin

  • Total Iron-Binding Capacity, Transferrin Saturation

  • Iron

  • Erythropoietin

  • Folate (RBC or Serum/Plasma)

  • Vitamin B ₁₂ (Cobalamin)

  • Homocysteine

  • Methylmalonic Acid

  • Osmotic Fragility

  • Red Cell Glycolytic Intermediate Metabolites in Normal Adults, Term Infants, and Premature Infants

• White Blood Cell and Immunologic Testing

  • Leukocyte Counts (Absolute and Percentage)

  • Lymphocyte Subsets

  • Immunoglobulin A

  • Immunoglobulin E

  • Immunoglobulin G

  • Immunoglobulin G Subclasses

  • Immunoglobulin M

  • Immunoglobulin Light Chains

  • Complement Fractions C3 and C4

• Platelet and Coagulation Testing

  • Platelet Count and Mean Platelet Volume

  • Immature Platelet Fraction

  • Prothrombin Time/International Normalized Ratio (PT/INR)

  • Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (aPTT)

  • Fibrinogen

  • Mixing Studies

  • Lupus Anticoagulant

  • Coagulation Factor Levels (II, V, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, Contact Pathway Factors)

  • Bethesda Assay/Nijmegen-Bethesda Assay

  • von Willebrand Antigen/Activity

  • Natural Anticoagulants (Antithrombin, Protein C, Protein S, Tissue Factor Pathway Inhibitor)

  • D-dimer

  • Anti-Xa Assay

  • PFA-100

  • Platelet Aggregometry

This appendix is intended to provide useful supplemental information to clinicians in selecting, obtaining, and interpreting certain key laboratory tests relevant to hematology. Reference values are given in Tables and interpretive comments appear in associated Boxes. The most appropriate reference range for a particular test is dependent on the specific testing methods employed (including reagents and instrumentation), patient age and gender, testing conditions, preanalytical variables, and other concurrent medical conditions and is determined and validated by the laboratory performing the test. The listed reference ranges thus provide only a rough guide to differentiating normal from abnormal results. Clinicians are encouraged to seek out the most applicable and appropriate reference range for a particular test, preferably using reference data that are specific to the performing laboratory and the patient population being tested. Although the tables herein provide some age-specific information, caution is particularly emphasized in interpreting results obtained from testing infants and children.