This ANC calculator is a very useful tool which allows you to come up with an estimation of the total neutrophil count in your blood. This is very useful in terms of risk assessment associated with infectious illnesses and conditions. In this article, you’ll learn how to use the calculator, how to calculate ANC using the ANC formula, and more.
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How to use the ANC calculator?
Using this ANC calculator is a breeze since it’s so simple and easy to understand. As aforementioned, knowing the neutrophil count in your own blood is important, especially when you perform a risk assessment. Here are the steps to follow for using this online tool:
- First, enter the value of the White Blood Cells or WBC.
- Then enter the value of the Neutrophil Granulocytes (segs) which is a percentage value.
- Finally, enter the value of the Neutrophilic Band Forms (bands) which is also a percentage value.
- After entering all of the required values, the online calculator immediately generates the value of the Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC).
How do I calculate my ANC?
Before using this ANC calculator, it’s better to first learn more about neutrophils. These are the most numerous subpopulation of white blood cells and granulocytes. Neutrophils come from the stem cells of the bone marrow along with other types of granulocytes like basophils, agranulocytes, monocytes, lymphocytes, and eosinophils.
Each of us produces over 1,000 neutrophils each day and they only live for a couple of days. The neutrophils which leave the bone marrow are what we call band cells or band neutrophils. These are the cells which are just a single step away from becoming segmented neutrophils which are fully matured.
When your body has an elevated level of bandemia or band neutrophils, these indicate an increase in the production of WBC. This also marks the release of more WBCs from your bone marrow to your bloodstream. Typically, this occurs when your body has some kind of inflammation or infection.
ANC stands for the absolute neutrophil count and it refers to the total number of both immature and mature neutrophils in a single microliter of blood. Solving for ANC is essential in a lot of clinical situations. First, ANC is vital in the diagnosis and classification of neutropenia.
It’s not possible to diagnose this condition without knowing your ANC value. ANC also refers to a measure of infection risk including life-threatening and severe infections such as sepsis. Furthermore, diagnosis neutropenia requires the doctor to actively look for potential severe complications for the purpose of their prevention and treatment.
Also, patients who suffer from these types of conditions must not receive specific types of drugs. Therefore, the administration of such drugs must cease. With all of these applications and more, you can see why solving for ANC using the ANC equation is crucial.
The good news is that solving for ANC manually using the ANC formula is an easy task. You only need a few values taken from differential and routine blood tests for you to find this value even without using an ANC calculator. For this, you need the following values:
- The total number of WBCs (white blood cells) which you measure in cells/μL.
- The percentage value of the mature neutrophils which are also known as segmented cells or segs.
- The percentage value of immature neutrophils which are also known as bands.
When using the ANC calculator, simply input these values into the proper fields. But when you use the ANC formula, it goes like this:
ANC = WBC * (segs[%] + bands[%]) / 100
You express the resulting value from this ANC equation in cells/μL. Keep in mind that the value of ANC tends to change dynamically as it reflects the response of a patient to various treatment options. Therefore, it’s important to measure and solve for this value daily.
What is the normal ANC?
ANC refers to the actual number of WBCs which are neutrophils. Crucial as this value is, it isn’t measured directly. Rather, you would derive the value by multiplying the value of the WBC times the percentage value of neutrophils in a differential WBC count. For healthy individuals, the normal ANC value is 1,500 to 8,000/mm3.
How are bands calculated in CBC?
Before you can use the ANC calculator, you need to have the percentage value of bands or immature neutrophils. You can calculate this value in CBC by following these steps:
- Perform a CBC test to get the most recent results. If you have several results, use the most recent one.
- Write down the number of WBCs per microliter. Let’s use an example and assume that the value you get is 6000 cells/μL.
- Take note of the percentage value of the segs and the bands in the patient’s blood sample. Again, let’s assume a percentage value of 30% for the segs and 3% for the bands.
- Using the ANC formula, you can start solving:
ANC = WBC * (segs[%] + bands[%]) / 100
ANC = 6000 * (30 + 3) / 100
ANC = 6000 * 0.33
ANC = 1980 cells/μL
After your calculation, it’s time to compare the obtained value against the interpretation rules of ANC:
- Category 0: For any ANC value over 2000 cells/μL.
- Category 1: For any ANC value between 1500 and 2000 cells/μL.
- Category 2: For any ANC value between 1000 and 1500 cells/μL. It’s important to note that patients who fall in this category already suffer from mild neutropenia.
- Category 3: For any ANC value between 500 and 1000 cells/μL. It’s important to note that patients who fall in this category already suffer from moderate neutropenia.
- Category 4: For any ANC value lower than 500 cells/μL. It’s important to note that patients who fall in this category already suffer from severe neutropenia.
The management and treatment of neutropenia would depend on the primary cause and the severity of the condition. In cases where the patient suffers from severe neutropenia, doctors would require treatment. Therefore, if you notice any symptoms of this condition, it’s important to check your ANC to determine whether or not you need treatment.
