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Laboratory Speak: Look at complete blood count for CDI opportunities

by Verona A. Lodholz, DC, MT(ASCP), CPC, CCDS
As you review all the numbers included in a complete blood count (CBC), are you gathering all the available information? Do you just look at the white blood count (WBC), hemoglobin (Hgb), hematocrit (Hct), H&H, and platelet count and move on? What are all those numbers, and furthermore, why should a CDI professional care?

As a medical technologist/clinical laboratory scientist turned CDI specialist, these are questions asked of me by my fellow CDI professionals. The lesser-reviewed numbers include the red blood cell count (RBC) and the indices. Let’s take a look at where they come from and why you should care.

 

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