In a patient with HbSC disease and marked hypertriglyceridemia, what artifact may affect the CBC results?

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Multiple Choice

In a patient with HbSC disease and marked hypertriglyceridemia, what artifact may affect the CBC results?

Lipemic plasma from marked hypertriglyceridemia creates turbidity that interferes with optical measurements in CBC analyzers. These instruments usually quantify hemoglobin by photometric methods that assume a clear sample; when lipid droplets scatter and absorb light, the result can be misread as more hemoglobin, giving a falsely elevated Hgb. This is an artifact of the measurement technique, not a true change in blood constituents. The other options don’t describe this measurement artifact—WBC counts, lipid levels, and platelet counts aren’t driven by lipemic turbidity in the way hemoglobin readings are.

Lipemic plasma from marked hypertriglyceridemia creates turbidity that interferes with optical measurements in CBC analyzers. These instruments usually quantify hemoglobin by photometric methods that assume a clear sample; when lipid droplets scatter and absorb light, the result can be misread as more hemoglobin, giving a falsely elevated Hgb. This is an artifact of the measurement technique, not a true change in blood constituents. The other options don’t describe this measurement artifact—WBC counts, lipid levels, and platelet counts aren’t driven by lipemic turbidity in the way hemoglobin readings are.

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