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A 26-year-old male asked:

Is an rdw of 16 concern? hemaglobin in the 10's, mcv, mch, mchc all in the low normal. hgb 10.6, rbc 3.99 platelets 262, lymph/mono/seg % normal.

1 doctor answer1 doctor weighed in
Dr. Ed Friedlander
Pathology 46 years experience
Concerning: Anemia is always a concern. You need to get worked up. A mild anemia with a high RDW is blood loss until proved otherwise. Your physician can address this by history and more labs, and if you are indeed losing blood, we need to be sure that you do not have an ulcer or a cancer, rare though the latter would be at your age.
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Last updated Jun 10, 2014

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