Hematocrit

The hematocrit (/hɪˈmætəkrɪt/) (Ht or HCT), also known by several other names, is the volume percentage (vol%) of red blood cells (RBCs) in blood, measured as part of a blood test. The measurement depends on the number and size of red blood cells. It is normally 40.7–50.3% for males and 36.1–44.3% for females. It is a part of a person's complete blood count results, along with hemoglobin concentration, white blood cell count and platelet count.

Because the purpose of red blood cells is to transfer oxygen from the lungs to body tissues, a blood sample's hematocrit—the red blood cell volume percentage—can become a point of reference of its capability of delivering oxygen. Hematocrit levels that are too high or too low can indicate a blood disorder, dehydration, or other medical conditions. An abnormally low hematocrit may suggest anemia, a decrease in the total amount of red blood cells, while an abnormally high hematocrit is called polycythemia. Both are potentially life-threatening disorders.

There are other names for the hematocrit, such as packed cell volume (PCV), volume of packed red cells (VPRC), or erythrocyte volume fraction (EVF). The term hematocrit (or haematocrit in British English) comes from the Ancient Greek words haima (αἷμα, "blood") and kritēs (κριτής, "judge"), and hematocrit means "to separate blood". It was coined in 1891 by Swedish physiologist Magnus Blix as haematokrit, modeled after lactokrit.

With modern lab equipment, the hematocrit can be calculated by an automated analyzer or directly measured, depending on the analyzer manufacturer. Calculated hematocrit is determined by multiplying the red cell count by the mean cell volume. The hematocrit is slightly more accurate, as the PCV includes small amounts of blood plasma trapped between the red cells. An estimated hematocrit as a percentage may be derived by tripling the hemoglobin concentration in g/dL and dropping the units.

The packed cell volume (PCV) can be determined by centrifuging EDTA-treated or heparinized blood in a capillary tube (also known as a microhematocrit tube) at 10,000 RPM for five minutes. This separates the blood into layers. The volume of packed red blood cells divided by the total volume of the blood sample gives the PCV. Since a tube is used, this can be calculated by measuring the lengths of the layers.^{[citation needed]}

Another way of measuring hematocrit levels is by optical methods such as spectrophotometry. Through differential spectrophotometry, the differences in optical densities of a blood sample flowing through small-bore glass tubes at isosbestic wavelengths for deoxyhemoglobin and oxyhemoglobin and the product of the luminal diameter and hematocrit create a linear relationship that is used to measure hematocrit levels.

Other than potential bruising at the puncture site, and/or dizziness, there are no complications associated with this test.

While known hematocrit levels are used in detecting conditions, it may fail at times due to hematocrit being the measure of concentration of red blood cells through volume in a blood sample. It does not account for the mass of the red blood cells, and thus the changes in mass can alter a hematocrit level or go undetected while affecting a subject's condition. Additionally, there have been cases in which the blood for testing was inadvertently drawn proximal to an intravenous line that was infusing packed red cells or fluids. In these situations, the hemoglobin level in the blood sample will not be the true level for the patient because the sample will contain a large amount of the infused material rather than what is diluted into the circulating whole blood. That is, if packed red cells are being supplied, the sample will contain a large amount of those cells and the hematocrit will be artificially very high.^{[citation needed]}