How to Cite This Chapter: Don-Wauchope A, Chetty VT, Ivica J, Kavsak P, Khan WI, Lafreniere M, Nouri K, Solnica B. White Blood Cell (WBC) Count, Total. McMaster Textbook of Internal Medicine. Kraków: Medycyna Praktyczna. https://empendium.com/mcmtextbook/chapter/B31.1269.3.7.27.10. Accessed December 03, 2024.
Last Updated: May 9, 2022
Last Reviewed: May 9, 2022
Chapter Information
McMaster Textbook of Internal Medicine Editorial Offices
Editorial Office (Canada)
Authors: Andrew Don-Wauchope, Vasudhevan T. Chetty, Joško Ivica, Peter Kavsak, Waliul I. Khan, Matthew Lafreniere, Kazem Nouri
Editorial Office (Poland)
Authors: Bogdan Solnica
For a brief introduction and guide to abbreviations, see Laboratory Tests: General Remarks.
Analyte [material]
White blood cell (WBC) count, total
Reference range, target level, or decision threshold
4000-10,000/microL (4-10 Giga/L)
Interpretation of results
When analyzing total WBC count, consider changes in WBC subtypes:
↑ Increased WBC subtype count (see Neutrophils or Lymphocytes) or presence of abnormal cells (immature neutrophils [left shift], leukemic cells, lymphoma cells)
↓ Decreased counts of the largest WBC subtypes: neutrophils (see Neutrophils) or lymphocytes (see Lymphocytes)