Question

Why is complete blood count (CBC) important to us as a respiratory therapist? Give an example of one critical test value (RBC, WBC, Electrolyte, etc.) and what it could tell us about a patient?

Answer 1

A complete blood cell count (CBC) may indicate anemia, which can leads to tissue hypoxia, whereas polycythemia may indicate chronic hypoxemic respiratory failure. For example of critical test value of RBC, WBC, ELECTROLYTES are:-

Test	Patient value	normal value
RBC	3.51million cells/mcl	4.35 - 5.65million cells /mcl
WBC	16,400 cells/mcl	3,400 - 9,600 cells/mcl
Sodium	135mEq/L	132 -146mEq/L
Potassium	3.5	3.5 -4.5

These are the examples of cbc values.

This result indicate  patient is undergoing anemia and infection.