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    Pernicious Anaemia Society
    14,685 members • 10,452 posts

    UK B12 Level Test Range Changes!!

    This is one for the wonderful helpful contributors to this site. Does anyone 'in the know', know when the B12 test range bottom level was dropped to 110ng/L from 140ng/L?

    In 2004 my result was 260ng/L and the bottom level was 140ng/L.

    In 2011 my result was 219ng/L and the bottom level was 110ng/L.

    By 2015 my result was 189ng/L

    Just curious how they come to these decisions when the rest of Europe and Japan and seemingly everyone else apart from this country look at and treat it so amazingly differently.

    Still fighting my private battle with local health services but otherwise am now quite confident at self injecting and hoping things pick up albeit slowly.

    Sallyb

    8 Replies
    oldest • newest

    The range change could be because they switched to a different lab, or the lab switched to a different assay.

    2 likes
    Reply

    Hi fbirder I hope you won't mind if I pick your brains but could you please interpret the following set of results for a friend of mine on another forum.

    She says

    I have low MPV of 6.9 --- ref of 7.4-10.4

    I have high MCV of 94 --- ref of 82.0-92.0

    Barely low RBC of 4.56. --- ref of 4.6-6.20

    High MCH of 31.8 --- ref of 27.0-31.0

    Are these indicative of a B12 deficiency?

    Reply

    It looks like thrombocytopenia and macrocytic anaemia - both can be caused by a B12 or folate deficiency.

    I'd be off to my GP.

    Reply

    Thanks - message conveyed.

    Reply

    Except for those tests where they have put in the required effort to achieve standardisation, all test ranges can vary lab to lab, assay to assay, country to country.

    Reply

    there are even differences in the ranges used in different areas

    pernicious-anaemia-society....

    listen to the radio Oxford part 2 with Martyn Hooper

    2 likes
    Reply

    hya thanks for all the replies. I was just curious because the bottom level got lowered but the upper level remained the same since 2004. That's as far back as I can go with my tests. Thought levels were may be decided by some national health body?

    You may be able to tell that I've lost faith in the health system and thought maybe it's just another way of saving money.

    I've been with the same GP practice all my life in a small market town. Our blood tests I believe are done by our nearby hospital trust and all they seem to be interested in is winning awards for this that and the other!!!

    Sallyb

    1 like
    Reply

    Thanks for the link Gambit62. Will listen to it later today when my brain is awake.

    Reply

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