Reticulocyte count

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Reticulocytes

Overview

Risks

Results

Reticulocyte count

Normal Values:

The normal range is 0.5-2%.

The normal range is higher if there has been any blood loss or red blood cell destruction.

What abnormal results mean:

A higher-than-normal percentage of reticulocytes may indicate:

erythroblastosis fetalis
hemolytic anemia
post-hemorrhage (bleeding)
kidney disease with increased erythropoietin production

A lower-than-normal percentage of reticulocytes may indicate:

bone marrow failure (for example, from toxicity, tumor, fibrosis, infection)
cirrhosis of the liver
folate deficiency
iron deficiency
radiation therapy
vitamin B-12 deficiency
kidney disease with decreased erythropoietin production

Additional conditions under which the test may be performed:

Review Date: 2/1/2005
Reviewed By: Rita Nanda, M.D., Department of Hematology/Oncology, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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