If you want to decipher the blood test in a child, then you need to know that for the first time in the absence of indications for an earlier delivery, it is taken at the age of three months, then six months and a year. Also, tests must be taken in almost every disease, with the exception of acute respiratory infections without complications, because in this case, the data obtained do not have a particular information content.
Children's indicators up to 13 years
Clinical blood tests in children are different in terms of indicators for each age. It is noted that the smaller the age of the child, the more differences. So, the difference in the analyzes taken on the first day of life and in the first month will be much larger than that taken at the age of the fifth and sixth month. On a children's scale, the information received is considered up to thirteen years old, after which a blood test is performed according to methods developed for adults. It is believed that children, unlike adults, can be fed before blood sampling. The main thing is that two hours or more have elapsed before the procedure, since light baby food does not have a significant effect on indicators. It is better to drink the baby with clean water, which allows you to get the correct hemoglobin data.
How to take blood
How is a clinical blood test taken ? Decoding in children is preceded by a fence of material from the ring finger using a scarifier. Sometimes blood is taken from a vein. After that, it is phased examined using a microscope. First, consider blood cells , including red blood cells, which are responsible for the nutrition of the components of the body with oxygen. Their norm is the largest among daily infants (5-7 x 10 in the twelfth degree unit), then the number gradually decreases, reaching 4–4.5 to the same extent at the age of 10 years. White blood cells that protect the body from infections are also highest in the first hours of life (10-30 x 10 to the ninth power of units per liter). In school-age children, this indicator ranges from 6-10 to the same extent.
Different values for different ages
What other indicators are included in the clinical blood test? Decoding in children also includes an indication of the level of hemoglobin, which is directly responsible for the circulation of oxygen. Its low level may indicate dehydration, and a high level means that red blood cells are elevated. For five-day-old babies, its norm is from 180 to 240 grams. per liter, and for year-old children - about 120 g / liter.
What else is worth paying attention to when considering what result a clinical blood test gave? Decoding in children shows that the youngest have a high level of reticulocytes (young red blood cells) - from 1 to 4 percent, while schoolchildren (10 years old) have such an indicator at a level of from 0.4 to 0.9 percent.
In direct proportion to age, the number of platelets varies from 100 to 300 by 10 to the ninth degree under the age of 5 days, to 150-350 to the same extent for children aged one year or more. Perhaps this is laid down by evolution, because children begin to actively explore the world, move, receive bruises and abrasions that heal not without the participation of platelets.
Outpatient clinics usually provide a detailed clinical blood test. The interpretation in children and adults involves indicating the parameters of the leukocyte group, which contains data on individual forms of leukocytes (basophils, neutrophils, monocytes, lymphocytes, etc.).