High MCHC - macrocytic anemia
- Thread starter kday
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merylg
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Did you mean high MCV?
No. Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC).
merylg
Senior Member
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- 841
- Location
- Sydney, NSW, Australia
A high MCHC is only found in spherocytosis. MCHC can be artifactually raised where there is too little blood in relation to the anticoagulant in the tube.
Ref: Diagnostic Haematology, Norman Beck Springer London, 2009 p. 215
MCHC rarely exceeds 360 g/L in health and disease. Sometimes when cold agglutinins are present in a sample, an electronic analyser may count two cells as one, giving a false macrocytosis, which then gives rise to a spuriously high
MCHC. Sometimes this can be eliminated by pre-warming the sample to 37 deg C before analysis.
Ref: Diagnostic Haematology, Norman Beck Springer London, 2009 p. 215
MCHC rarely exceeds 360 g/L in health and disease. Sometimes when cold agglutinins are present in a sample, an electronic analyser may count two cells as one, giving a false macrocytosis, which then gives rise to a spuriously high
MCHC. Sometimes this can be eliminated by pre-warming the sample to 37 deg C before analysis.
I don't think this statement is accurate. It is my understanding that elevated MCHC can also be associated with folate and cobalamin deficiencies, even though this is not the usual presentation. I've had elevated MCHC and I don't have spherocytosis. I suppose the results could have been artifactual, but judging from my response to B12 and folate and my mother's history of B12 deficiency confirmed via Schilling's test, I'm guessing there is something to these abnormal MCHC's findings and their relationship to the B vitamins.
P.S.: Iron supplements cause me extreme fatigue; I presume someone with high MCHC would experience this given the concentration of iron in their blood.
I've had an unexplained elevated MCV and MCH since getting really ill, but my MCHC was in the usual range. If you're thinking it could be related to B12 and folate, it might be worth a trial run of methylfolate and a re-check of your levels in a few months. ...Might not mean for sure that was the problem, but it probably can't hurt if you tolerated it okay before. If anyone is going to be the one weird case of something, I'm willing to believe it would be someone with this illness. 