A hematocrit test is a blood test that measures the amount (percent) of your blood that is made up of red blood cells. Red blood cells carry oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body. The other parts of your blood include white blood cells (to help fight infection and other diseases), platelets (to help make blood clots to stop bleeding), and a liquid called plasma.
A hematocrit (HCT) test is often part of a complete blood count (CBC). A CBC is a common blood test that measures the number and type of cells in your blood. It is used to check your general health. It may also be used to monitor or help diagnose blood disorders. These could include anemia, a condition in which you don't have enough red blood cells, and polycythemia (erythrocytosis), an uncommon disorder in which you have too many red blood cells and your blood becomes too thick.
Source: MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine
Normal range
No published reference range from a named lab yet.
What an abnormal result can be associated with
- A high result
- Increased hematocrit
- A low result
- Reduced hematocrit
Associations from LOINC2HPO (Human Phenotype Ontology). This is reference information, not a diagnosis — only a clinician can interpret your result in context.
Details
- Sample
- Whole blood · LOINC
- Code
- LOINC 20570-8 · %
- Also known as
- Red cells, Red blood cells, Red cell, Percent, WB