04/17/10 Hematocrit Again

Over the weekend we became aware of yet one more issue. It looks like Eli's hematocrit level is dropping off again. If you recall from earlier in the blog we had Eli transfused because his hematocrit level was so low. He was down to a hematocrit level of about 22 and he peaked after the transfusion around 38 before finally settling into a very normal 32 or so. Eli's hematocrit has fallen back to about 27.5 now. After discussing it with some of the doctors we learned that this is somewhat normal but it bears watching.

When you get pumped full of red blood cells from donor blood your body says, "Whoa! We got a lot of red blood cells here!" and you stop producing new red blood cells. The production rate is called your reticulocyte count which represents the number of immature red blood cells in a sample of blood. It is commonly called the retic count. Eli's retic count is very low which is consistent with what the doctors have told us is happening. When your hematocrit level drops down after a transfusion your retic count should start to come back up again and you should be able to maintain a healthy hematocrit level. In Eli's case we just need to watch to make sure his retic count increases and his hematocrit level remains at a normal level.

Normally this type of thing wouldn't be a big deal but it's weighing on me. Every time we feel like we've put a problem behind us something pops back up again as it did with the hematocrit level. We're definitely going to follow this to make sure Eli stays in the normal range but it sure would be nice to take something off the table so we have a little less to worry about.