Objective: To establish the reference range of venous blood measured by automated hematology analyzer in China.
Methods: Different hematoanalyzers were used to examine the white blood cell (WBC), red blood cell (RBC), hemoglobin (Hb), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), and hemotocrit (HCT) of venous blood from 1,749 healthy people, 927 males and 822 females, aged 18 - 60, in 14 cities (Harbin, Changchun, Beijing, Tianjin, Lanzhou, Xi'an, Nanjing, Suzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, Chongqing, Fuzhou, Kunming, and Guangzhou) of China. The examination was completed within the period of one month under strict in-laboratory quality control.
Results: The range of WBC was (3.97 - 9.15) x 10(9)/L in males and (3.69 - 9.16) x 10(9)/L in females. The range of RBC was (4.09 - 5.74) x 10(12)/L in males and (3.68 - 5.13) x 10(12)/L in females. The range Hb was 131 - 172 (151) g/L in males and 113 - 151 (129) g/L in females. The range of MCH was 27.8 - 33.8 (30.8) pg in males and 26.9 - 33.3 (30.2) pg in females. The range of MCHC was 263 - 375 (335) g/L in males and 278 - 372 (325) g/L in females. The range of MCV was 83.9 - 99.1 (91.2) fl in males and 82.6 - 99.1 (91.3) fl in females. The range of HCT was 38.0% - 50.8% (44.8%) in males and 33.5% - 45.0% (38.9%) in females. The lower limits of WBC in Lanzhou and Chengdu were lower than those in other cities (P < 0.01). The concentrations of RBC and Hb in Kunming were significantly higher than those in other cities (P < 0.01). There was no significant difference in other parameters among different cities. The WBC, RBC, and Hb in the females were lower than those in the males (P < 0.01).
Conclusions: The reference ranges of different parameters of venous blood of Chinese have been primarily established. There is little discrepancy in those reference range in different district (except for highland). Some of the indices such as WBC, MCH and MCV measured by analyzer are quite different from those measured manually.