Needless to say, I was ecstatic when I got a good lab report being able to proceed with Cycle 3 yesterday! It isn't uncommon to have to delay of a week or two based on low white blood counts and I felt for the two individuals who had just that happen yesterday.
While looking at my labs, there were a few newer things I found very interesting and figured it would be neat information to share. You learn something new every day!
Most people know about red blood cells and white blood cells in a general sense. Red blood cells and plasma can but ideally shouldn't come in various shapes and sizes. Two lab results from a Complete Blood Count that show these variances are Red Cell Distribution Width (RDW and RDW-SD) and Mean Platelet Volume (MPV).
In short (and by short I mean long):
- Red Cell Distribution Width (RDW)
- What is a red blood cell?
- Red blood cells carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. They also carry carbon dioxide back to the lungs so it can be exhaled. Red blood cells (RBC) are made in the bone marrow and contain hemoglobin, a protein that carries oxygen to the tissues in the body. These cells are also known as erythrocytes.
- The RDW value tells you whether enough of your red blood cells are of normal size and shape.
- Why is this important?
- The red blood cells are usually flat and lenticular (disc-shaped) with a diameter of around 7.5 µm (micrometer).
- OK, back to the red blood cells and their distribution width:
- Blood cells must squeeze through the body’s smallest blood vessels, the capillaries, to do their job, but capillaries often become narrower than the cells in their normal disc shape. Capillaries can be as small as 4 µm in diameter. So the cells must deform and “curl up” to fit through those capillaries. Remember a normal red blood cell is around 7.5 µm in diameter.
- Some red blood cells are however not optimally formed. To a certain extent this is normal as there are 2 million red blood cells formed per second. Usually there are around 85% to 89% of red blood cells developed properly.
- By looking at the red cell distribution width value one can see how many red blood cells have a deviating form factor. If 85% to 89% are usually normally developed the RDW value then should range between 11% and 15%.
- Mean Platelet Volume (MPV)
- What is a platelet?
- Platelets, or thrombocytes, are small, colorless cell fragments in our blood that form clots and stop or prevent bleeding. Platelets are made in our bone marrow, the sponge-like tissue inside our bones.
- Mean platelet volume is a test that measures and calculates the average size of the platelets.
- Low MPVs indicate smaller platelets, meaning the individual is at risk for a bleeding disorder.
- This guy is a platelet:
New side effects - wobbly knees! I got up in the middle of the night and walked myself to the bathroom and all of a sudden, I had wobbly knees. While not new to me as a concept, it was new to me as a person. I kicked in my PT brain and told my quads to contract and reached for the wall and made it, without a fall. I'll be sure to check in with myself more often. Just one more thing to help me relate to my patients, which has always been the basis of my success with patient experience.
One last helpful thing for a side effect of my dry eyes. An amazing member of my healthcare team and someone I appreciate giving me a major heads upon what to expect after my initial pathology results arrived, let me know early on which drops to get.
Refresh Digital drops are a godsend.
- Super jazzed I got to proceed with Cycle 3 and feeling for those who had to wait due to low white blood cell counts.
- I introduced two lab tests included in a Complete Blood Count that are worth reviewing up above if interested - Red Cell Distribution Width (RDW and RDW-SD) and Mean Platelet Volume (MPV).
- New side effect - wobbly knees - old side effect of dry eyes still holding strong.
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