CBC Full Form

The CBC full form or CBC test full form is a Complete Blood Count. It is a group of medical laboratory tests that provides information about the cell in the person’s blood. The CBC full form in medical represents the Red Blood Cell, White Blood Cell, the concentration of haemoglobin, and hematocrit (the volume % of Red Blood cells in the blood. The red blood cell indices, which represent the size and the haemoglobin percentage of RBC are also examined, and white blood cell differentials, which count the different types of RBC are also included.

The Complete Blood Count (CBC Test Full Form) is often considered as part of medical assessment and can be used to examine health conditions or diagnose diseases. The results are further interpreted by comparing them to reference ranges which vary with age and sex. Diseases like anaemia and thrombocytopenia (abnormally low level of platelets) are defined by abnormal complete blood count. The red blood cell indices provide information about the cause of anaemia in the person’s body such as iron deficiency and vitamin B12 deficiency and white blood cell differential enables diagnosing parasitic infection, bacteria, viral, and blood disorders like leukaemia. Not all results falling beyond this range required medical intervention.

What is CBC Blood Test Full Form?

The CBC blood test full form is a Complete Blood Count.

CBC Purpose

The CBC full form Complete Blood Count is composed of a fluid portion, known as plasma, and a cellular portion that contains red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.  The CBC monitors the three cellular components of blood. Certain medical conditions such as anaemia and thrombocytopenia (abnormally low level of platelets) are defined by marked increases or decreases in blood counts. Changes in different organ systems may also affect blood cells, hence CBC is used for investigating a wide range of medical conditions. Because of the wide range of information it provides, the CBC is one of the most commonly performed medical tests.

The CBC is commonly used to screen for a disease as a part of a medical assessment. A CBC is advised when a healthcare provider suspects a patient has a disease that affects blood cells such as an infection, bleeding disorders, or some cancers. Patients who have been diagnosed with bleeding disorders that may cause abnormal CBC results or patients who are receiving treatment that can affect blood cell counts may have a regular CBC performed to evaluate their health, and the test is performed regularly on patients who are hospitalised. The results may require blood or platelet transfusion.

CBC  Long Form and Its Requirement

The CBC long form is Complete Blood Count. Your doctor may advise you to get the CBC done for numerous reasons. These includes:

Examining Your Overall Health: A CBC can be ordered as a part of your routine health checkup to examine your overall health. This test can screen several disorders like anaemia or leukaemia.

To Diagnose Health Problem: A doctor may instruct CBC if you are experiencing certain symptoms like fever, fatigue, swelling, redness, bleeding, or bruising. A CBC test may help diagnose the cause of these symptoms. If your doctor suspects an infection in your body, this test may be used to confirm the diagnosis.

To Evaluate Medical Condition: Your doctor may instruct you to get the CBC test done to examine your medical conditions if you have been diagnosed with a disorder that affects the blood cell counts. 

To Evaluate Your Treatment:  Certain medication can affect your blood cell counts and may ask for regular CBC. Your doctor can monitor how well your treatment is working based on your CBC test.

How is Blood CBC Performed?

The blood CBC full form is a Complete Blood Count. It is performed using basic laboratory equipment and an automated haematology analyzer (This analyzer is used to count and identify blood cells at high speed and accuracy). The concentration of haemoglobin is measured, and the red blood cell indices are calculated from the measurement of red blood cells and haemoglobin. Manual tests can also be performed to independently confirm abnormal tests. Approximately 10-25% of samples require blood smear inquiry, in which blood is stained and observed under a microscope to verify that the observer's results are consistent with the appearance of cells and to seek abnormalities.

The hematocrit can be observed abnormally by extracting a sample using a device centrifuging and measuring the proportion of red blood cells, and in clinical laboratories without using automated instruments, blood cells are counted under the microscope using a hemocytometer (a device used for counting hemocytometer).

CBC Limitations

CBC blood test full form Common Blood Count has certain medical conditions or issues with the blood samples that may produce inaccurate results. If the extracted sample is visibly clotted, which can be caused by poor phlebotomy procedure, it is not suitable for testing as the platelet counts will be falsely minimized and other results may also be abnormal. A sample stored at room temperature for several hours may provide high readings for MCV as red blood cells swell and they absorb water from plasma, and platelets and white blood cell differentials may not be accurate in aged patterns, as the cell degrades over time.

Samples extracted from patients with high lipid and bilirubin (referred to as lipemic sample or icteric sample) may exhibit false high readings of haemoglobin, as these substances change the colour and obesity of the sample, which interferes with the measurement of the haemoglobin This effect can be diminished by replacing plasma with saline. 

Some patients may produce antibodies that cause their platelets to form clumps when their blood is extracted into tubes containing EDTA, the anticoagulant often used to collect CBC samples. The platelet clump may be counted as single cells by an automated analyzer, leading to falsely decreased blood counts. This can be prevented by using an alternative anticoagulant such as heparin or sodium citrate.

Another antibody medical condition that can highly affect CBC is red blood cell agglutination ( a phenomenon in RBC clumps together, forming aggregates). Red blood aggregates are counted as single cells by an automated analyzer, leading to a massive decline in red blood counts and hematocrit and highly elevated MCV and MCHC tests.