Reticulocytes, Blood

CPT CODE:

USEFUL FOR:

Assessing erythropoietic bone marrow activity in anemia and other hematologic conditions

SPECIMEN REQUIRED:

Specimen must arrive within 72 hours of draw.
Draw blood in a lavender-top (EDTA) tube(s), and send 3 mL of EDTA whole blood refrigerated. Specimen cannot be frozen.

TRANSPORT TEMPERATURE:

Refrig\Ambient NO\Frozen NO

CLINICAL INFORMATION:

Reticulocytes are immature erythrocytes (RBCs) that have been released into the peripheral blood from the bone marrow after extrusion of their nucleus. The reticulocyte contains residual polyribosomes used in the formation of hemoglobin in the developing erythrocyte.
The reticulocyte count is a measure of the number of RBCs delivered by the bone marrow. It is elevated with active erythropoiesis such as regeneration, and is decreased in hypoplastic or deficiency conditions such as vitamin B(12)deficiency.

CLINICAL INTERPRETATION:

Reticulocyte counts must be carefully correlated with other clinicaland laboratory findings.

REFERENCE VALUES:

% Reticulocytes: 0.60-1.83%

Absolute Reticulocytes:  29.5-87.3 x10(9)/L