Q: I am a 31 years old man and am worried about my health. I was having body ache and feeling sick for the last month so I got done my blood test of complete haemogram. The report stated the following: total leukocytes - 7.2 x 103/cu mm, neutrophils - 65.9 %, lympho - 29.6 %, mono - 2.1%, eosinophils - 2%, basophils - 0.4%, total RBC - 5.83 x 106/cu mm, haemoglobin - 15.4 g/dl, mean corpuscular vol. - 83.9 fl, mean corpuscular haemoglobin - 26.4 pq, mean corpuscular haemo. conc - 31.4 %, red cell distribution width rdw cv - 19.4 fl, platelet –105 x 103/cu mm, platelet distribution width - 15.9 %, mean platelets volume - 11.5%, ESR - 2 mm/hr. Platelet reduced in smear, rechecked and confirmed. Is my haemogram report all right? Is there any symptom of cancer? Please advise.

A:We can summarise the blood report as under:

Parameter	Value	Ref. range
Total leucocytes	7.2 x 1000	4.0-11.0 x 1000
Neutrophils	65.9%	40-80%
Lympho	29.6%	20-40%
Mono	2.1%	2-6%
Eosinophils	2%	0-6%
Basophils	0.4%	<01%
Total RBC	5.83 x 1000000	5-7 x 1000000
Haemoglobin	15.4 GMS	14-18 GMS
Mean corpuscular vol.	83.9 fL	80-100
Mean corpuscular haemoglobin	26.4 pq	25-33
Mean corpuscular hemo conc	31.4 %	31-37
Red cell distribution width rdw cv	19.4 fL	11.5-14.0
Platelet	105 x 1000	150-450
Platelet distribution width	15.9%	<12.0
Mean platelets volume	11.5%	7-9
ESR	2 MM/HR	<10

As per the report, the parameters out of range are platelet count, PDW and MPV. Since you have had body-aches, you must have taken painkillers. These have some effect on the platelet count causing their reduction and to counter this effect the body tries to produce large platelets, which increase MPV and PDW.

Haematologicaly otherwise there is nothing abnormal. Based on the reports again there is no evidence of cancer.

However, a close follow up is suggested for platelet counts after you have stopped any painkiller drugs.