What Does My Blood Test Report Indicate?

Posted on Wed, 10 Jun 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 10 Jun 2015 Answered on

Sat, 27 Jun 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : 45 year old male went for routine blood work and was diagnosed with anemia. Here are the lab findings.
HCT 34.4
RBC 4.03
HGB 10.8
MCV 85.4
What could be causing this?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Ivan Romich (14 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
several possible causes

Detailed Answer:
Hi and welcome to HCM.
This is slight mycrocitic anemia and there are several possible causes including vitamin deficiency,B12, vit D or iron defficiency. These are most common causes which should be managed by taking these supplements. if there wont be improvement then you need to rule out hemolytic anemia by immunologic testing. bad liver and kidney function can lead to anemia as well. And the last, it may be caused by gastrointestinal bleeding so gastroscopy and colonoscopy should be considered. wish you good health. Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Neel Kudchadkar

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Ivan Romich (35 minutes later)

Thank you. So is your recommendation to start taking vitamins to see if numbers go up on repeat blood tests? Liver and kidney function tests are all normal?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Ivan Romich (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
yes

Detailed Answer:
Yes, these are not some critic values and nothing will happen in short time. TAke B12 and iron rich food or supplements and repeat tests in 2-3 weeks. If you notice blood in stool or urine, you should see gastroeneterolgist or urologist. If there is no improvement, then you can do more specific tests. Wish you good health.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Neel Kudchadkar