HOW TO INTERPRET
YOUR LAB TESTS
Janice Price, M.Ed, RN
Swedish Medical Center HIV
Research Program
TESTS
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CBC: Complete Blood Count
Serum Chemistries
Liver Function/ Amylase
Lipids: Blood Fats
Immune System: CD4 & Viral Load
CBC: Complete Blood Count
• Red Blood Cells: RBC
• White Blood
Cells:WBC
• Platelets: Plts
• Serum/Plasma
Blood Cell Types
Bone Marrow
• All Blood Cells
made in bone
marrow.
• Bone Marrow is
the spongy
centers of bones
sometimes seen
in cuts of meat
Stem Cells
• Stem cells are
young cells
• All blood cells start
as stem cells
• They get “drafted”
as RBCs, WBCs or
platelets depending
on the body’s needs
Red Blood Cells
• Called erythrocytes
• “cytes” = cells
• Shaped like bagel with
hole covered over
• Filled with hemoglobin
that carries oxygen
from the lungs to every
cell in the body.
Utah State University
White Blood Cells
• WBCs are disease
fighters
• Some make antibodies
and some fight invaders
directly
• Divided into categories
depending on function
and what they look like.
Types of White Cells
• Lymphocytes: B and T
cells. Agranulocytes
• Granulocytes:
polymorphonucleocoytes
mostly neutrophils
(55-80%), also basophils
and eosonophils
• Monocytes: mature into
macrophages (big eaters)
A macrophage attacking a bacteria with
a cellular extension called a pseudopod
Abbreviations
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•
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RBC = Red Blood Cell
WBC = White Blood Cell
HCT = Hematocrit
Hbg = Hemoglobin
ANC = Absolute Neutrophil Count
CBC
TESTS OF IMMUNE FUNCTION
A human cell infected with a rhinovirus ruptures,
relasing millions of new viruses
A human T-helper cell is under
attack by HIV virus
Viral Load Tests
• PCR: Most common. Usually
expressed has HIV-1 PCR in copies
per milliliter. Roche Amplicor
• bDNA: values are different. Usually
½ of PCR value
• NASBA: nucleic acid sequence based
amplification. Values are also
different
UNDETECTABLE VIRAL
LOAD DOES NOT MEAN NO
VIRUS PRESENT
Remember: there are other
places for virus to hide
Viral Load Expressed as Log
10
x = viral
load
Genotype/Phenotype
Blood Types