RBC count

An RBC count is a blood test that tells how many red blood cells (RBCs) you have.

RBCs contain hemoglobin, which carries oxygen. How much oxygen your body tissues
get depends on how many RBCs you have and how well they work.

Why the Test is Performed

The RBC count is almost always part of the CBC (complete blood count) test.

The test can help diagnose anemia and other conditions affecting red blood cells.

Additional conditions under which an RBC count may be performed:

 Alport syndrome
 Drug-induced immune hemolytic anemia
 Hemolytic anemia due to G6PD deficiency
 Hereditary anemias, such as thalassemia
 Idiopathic autoimmune hemolytic anemia
 Immune hemolytic anemia
 Macroglobulinemia of Waldenstrom
 Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH)
 Primary myelofibrosis

Normal Results

Normal results vary, but in general the range is as follows:

 Male: 4.7 to 6.1 million cells per microliter (cells/mcL)

 Female: 4.2 to 5.4 million cells/mcL

What Abnormal Results Mean

Higher-than-normal numbers of RBCs may be due to:

 Cigarette smoking
 Congenital heart disease
 Cor pulmonale
 Dehydration (such as from severe diarrhea)
 Kidney tumor (renal cell carcinoma)
 Low blood oxygen levels (hypoxia)
 Pulmonary fibrosis
 Polycythemia vera
Your RBC count will increase for several weeks when you move to a higher altitude.

Drugs that can increase the RBC count include:

 Gentamicin
 Methyldopa

Lower-than-normal numbers of RBCs may be due to:

 Anemia
 Bone marrow failure (for example, from radiation, toxins, or tumor)
 Erythropoietin deficiency (secondary to kidney disease)
 Hemolysis (RBC destruction) due to transfusion, blood vessel injury, or other
cause
 Hemorrhage (bleeding)
 Leukemia
 Malnutrition
 Multiple myeloma
 Nutritional deficiencies of:
o Iron
o Copper
o Folate
o Vitamin B-12
o Vitamin B-6
 Overhydration
 Pregnancy

Drugs that can decrease the RBC count include:

 Chloramphenicol
 Hydantoins
 Quinidine

Risks

There is very little risk involved with having your blood taken. Veins and arteries vary in
size from one patient to another and from one side of the body to the other. Taking blood
from some people may be more difficult than from others.

Other risks associated with having blood drawn are slight but may include:

 Excessive bleeding
 Fainting or feeling light-headed
 Hematoma (blood accumulating under the skin)
 Infection (a slight risk any time the skin is broken)
Alternative Names

Erythrocyte count; Red blood cell count

References

Zuckerman K. Approach to the anemias. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine.
23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 162.

Update Date: 3/2/2009

Updated by: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General
Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and
Yi-Bin Chen, MD, Leukemia/Bone Marrow Transplant Program, Massachusetts General
Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

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