Lowered
Lowered hematocrit can imply significant hemorrhage.
The mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and the red cell distribution width (RDW) can be quite helpful in evaluating a lower-than-normal hematocrit, because it can help the clinician determine whether blood loss is chronic or acute. The MCV is the size of the red cells and the RDW is a relative measure of the variation in size of the red cell population. A low hematocrit with a low MCV with a high RDW suggests a chronic iron-deficient erythropoiesis, but a normal RDW suggests a blood loss that is more acute, such as a hemorrhage. One unit of packed red blood cells will elevate the hematocrit by about 3%.
Groups of individuals at risk for developing anemia include:
- infants without adequate iron intake
- children going through a rapid growth spurt, during which the iron available cannot keep up with the demands for a growing red cell mass
- women in childbearing years with an greater need for iron because of blood loss during menstruation
- pregnant women, in whom the growing fetus creates a high demand for iron
- patients with chronic kidney disease, as their kidneys no longer secrete sufficient levels of the hormone erythropoietin, which stimulates red blood cell production by the bone marrow
Read more about this topic: Hematocrit
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