Low MCHC

[davidgrush]

Hello all. I have a new aspect of my cbc report that has just become Low. It is MCHC. Normal is 31.0 gm/dL to 36.5. I am now 30.7. I would love comments from any others who have had low MCHC. Did you eventually need oxygen. Did they start treatment due to this? How low can it go before you physically notice it?

[AussieNeil Administrator]

MCHC (Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration) measures the average amount of hemoglobin in your red blood cells. It is calculated by dividing Hemoglobin by the Hematocrit (same as packed cell volume - PCV). I've had results as low as 293. If your haemoglobin is below 8, then packed red blood cell transfusions are recommended.

I don't see how oxygen would help, because your MCHC means that your blood is constrained in how much oxygen it can deliver to your body cells due to insufficient haemoglobin.

Neil

[davidgrush in reply to AussieNeil]

Thanks for your response. I'm not sure what you mean by 293. Do you mean 29.3? Do your mchc numbers bounce around? Also not sure how hemoglobin is measured. I'll google that.

[AussieNeil Administrator in reply to davidgrush]

I expect my 293 would correspond to your 29.3, because my haemoglobin is measured in grams per litre (g/l) whereas yours is probably measured in grams per deciliter (g/dl). Packed cell volume/Hematocrit is reported as the percentage of red blood cells in a volume of blood.

PCV reference ranges are different for men and women, which, depending on your lab are roughly in the following overlapping ranges:-

Female 36 to 44%

Male 41 to 50%

UK haemoglobin ranges are:-

Female 12.1 to 15.1

Male 13.3 to 16.7 (133 to 167 in Australia)

So if you take a haemoglobin value of 14 and a PCV of 42% you get an MCHC of 14/0.42 or 33.3 (333 in Australia).

My MCHV has varied between 293 and 352 over the past 14 years. It trended down to a mean of around 310 when I needed treatment after which it recovered rapidly to around 335. Don't forget to divide by 10 to compare with your results.

Neil

[JigFettler Volunteer]

I don't think one can comment on MCHC in isolation.

The other Fbc indices are needed.

Also B12 Folate and iron numbers would be useful.

Then, one needs to consider trends, previous results. If none, then repeat.

Oxygen need on this basis is irrelevant, and CLL treatment commencing because of a low MCHC ... can't think of any reason why!

Jig

[wmay13241 in reply to JigFettler]

Absolutely follow the trend. A single lab reading must be considered together with the trend.

[Notmuchenergy]

more exercise and beetroot juice has helped me. I had a similar reading to you and I felt a little breathless at times so had a full blood count. Look up beetroot juice and athletes increased performance.

[Jm954 Administrator]

hi there,

as AussieNeil says this is a calculated parameter. This means it depends on the accuracy of the measured parameters and if a few of them are measured even slightly inaccurately then a MCHC outside the range is the result. For these reasons it’s mostly used as a measure of quality control in the labs and, in isolation, not intended to be a result that needs any action. Can you tell me the reported Hb, MCV and RBC as those are the directly measured parameters from which HCT, MCH, MCHC are derived by calculation.

Jackie