Question

if a patient presents with decreased hemoglobin what wintrobe indice do we check to determine the type of anemia?
a) mcv
b) mch
c) hct
d) mchc

Explanation:

To determine the type of anemia (when hemoglobin is decreased), the Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV) is a key Wintrobe index. MCV measures the average volume of red blood cells. Different anemias (e.g., microcytic, normocytic, macrocytic) are classified based on MCV values. MCH (Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin) relates to hemoglobin per RBC, MCHC (Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration) to hemoglobin concentration in RBCs, and HCT (Hematocrit) is the volume of RBCs in blood, but MCV is primary for anemia type classification via cell size.

Answer:

a) MCV