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What Is MCHC in a Blood Test?
Blood tests let doctors know about many possible health conditions 1. The letters and what they mean often mean nothing to those uninitiated into the medical mysteries. MCHC, which stands for mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, is one of the many acronyms that come back on medical test results that confuse the patient but are meaningful to the doctor.
Significance
This identifier in a blood test can help a doctor diagnose a patient with anemia. Patients whose levels fall within the normal ranges do not need to worry about having anemia. A low MCHC count alone does not give a medical professional enough information to make a specific diagnosis.
What Does MCHC Measure?
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MCHC and MCV, or mean corpuscular volume, levels are both used to test a person for anemia. MCHC tests for the levels of hemoglobin in the blood 1. This test is also referred to as an MCH test. The letters mean corpuscular hemoglobin.
- MCHC and MCV, or mean corpuscular volume, levels are both used to test a person for anemia.
What Does a Low MCHC Count Mean?
A low MCHC number might indicate the presence of anemia, but other factors will be measured as well before making this diagnosis. The mean corpuscular volume indicates the size of the red blood cells in a person's body.
Normal MCHC Concentrations
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MHCH is measured in grams per deciliter (a deciliter is one tenth of a liter). The normal range value for this is 31 to 35 grams per deciliter.
Treating Anemia
The doctor will use these numbers to help determine what kind of anemia a patient suffers from. Iron deficiency is the most common cause, and a change in diet should cause the blood to return to its normal state within a couple of weeks once the iron levels have been replenished 2.
Other causes require different treatment, and a physician will prescribe the proper course of action in his patient to cause the MCHC and MCV counts to return to normal levels.
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References
- Lyphomation: Blood Tests
- Mayo Clinic: Iron Deficiency Anemia
- American Association for Clinical Chemistry. Red cell indices. Updated December 22, 2018.
- MDApp. Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) calculator. Updated June 28, 2017.
- MedlinePlus. RBC indices. Updated February 18, 2018.
- Cancer Therapy Advisor. Anemia; low hemoglobin, low hematocrit, low red cell count. Updated 2017.
- National Organization of Rare Disorders. Hereditary spherocytosis. Updated 2019.
- Medical Laboratory Online. Identifying and managing hemolysis interference with CBC specimens. Updated December 22, 2016.
- 5MinuteConsult. Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC).
- Labpedia. Anemias types and characteristic finding (classification of anemias).
- Huang YL, Hu ZD. Lower mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration is associated with poorer outcomes in intensive care unit admitted patients with acute myocardial infarction. Ann Transl Med. 2016;4(10):190. doi:10.21037/atm.2016.03.42
- Malenica M, Prnjavorac B, Bego T, et al. Effect of cigarette smoking on haematological parameters in healthy population. Med Arch. 2017;71(2):132-136. doi:10.5455/medarh.2017.71.132-136
- Cancer Therapy Advisor. Hereditary spherocytosis. Updated 2017.
- Dorgalaleh A, Mahmoodi M, Varmaghani B, et al. Effect of thyroid dysfunctions on blood cell count and red blood cell indice. Iran J Ped Hematol Oncol. 2013;3(2):73-7.
- Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center. Hemoglobin C disease. Updated November 10, 2016.
- The McGill Physiology Virtual Lab. Blood cell indices.
- Huang YL, Hu ZD. Lower mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration is associated with poorer outcomes in intensive care unit admitted patients with acute myocardial infarction. Ann Transl Med. 2016;4(10):190. doi:10.21037/atm.2016.03.42
- Lee JM, Nadimpalli SB, Yoon JH, Mun SY, Suh I, Kim HC. Association between mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration and future depressive symptoms in women. Tohoku J Exp Med. 2017;241(3):209-217. doi:10.1620/tjem.241.209
- McPherson R., Pincus M., eds. Henry's Clinical Diagnosis and Management by Laboratory Methods. 23rd ed. St Louis, MO: Elsevier; 2017
- Qu X, Zhang T, Ma H, Sui P, Du J. Lower mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration is associated with unfavorable prognosis of resected lung cancer. Future Oncol. 2014;10(14):2149-2159. doi:10.2217/fon.14.121
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