Blood Test Question

[Nikki2003]

Hi everyone I have a quick question. I can't find the answer anywhere. I think it is in a cbc or the hematology part of blood work.

But what does a present left shift mean? The normal is absent. Does it mean anything?

Thanks for any info you have.

[LisaJ]

Hi everyone I have a quick question. I can't find the answer anywhere. I think it is in a cbc or the hematology part of blood work.

But what does a present left shift mean? The normal is absent. Does it mean anything?

Thanks for any info you have.

Hi Nikki,

I work in a lab. Left shift just means that there are some "band" neutrophils (a type of white blood cell) present. They are more immature than normal neutrophils, and are usually appear during infection/inflammation. Here is a longer explanation from a website:

An increased need for neutrophils, as with an acute bacterial infection, will cause an increase in both the total number of mature neutrophils and the less mature bands or stabs to respond to the infection. The term "shift to the left" is often used when determining if a patient has an inflammatory process such as acute appendicitis or cholecystitis. This term is a holdover from days in which lab reports were written by hand. Bands or stabs, the less mature neutrophil forms, were written first on the left-hand side of the laboratory report. Today, the term "shift to the left" means that the bands or stabs have increased, indicating an infection in progress.

For example, a patient with acute appendicitis might have a "WBC count of 15,000 with 65% of the cells being mature neutrophils and an increase in stabs or band cells to 10%". This report is typical of a "shift to the left", and will be taken into consideration along with history and physical findings, to determine how the patient's appendicitis will be treated.

Hope that helps. I was able to find quite a bit of info - just Google "CBC left shift".

[Nikki2003]

Hi Nikki,

I work in a lab. Left shift just means that there are some "band" neutrophils (a type of white blood cell) present. They are more immature than normal neutrophils, and are usually appear during infection/inflammation. Here is a longer explanation from a website:

An increased need for neutrophils, as with an acute bacterial infection, will cause an increase in both the total number of mature neutrophils and the less mature bands or stabs to respond to the infection. The term "shift to the left" is often used when determining if a patient has an inflammatory process such as acute appendicitis or cholecystitis. This term is a holdover from days in which lab reports were written by hand. Bands or stabs, the less mature neutrophil forms, were written first on the left-hand side of the laboratory report. Today, the term "shift to the left" means that the bands or stabs have increased, indicating an infection in progress.

For example, a patient with acute appendicitis might have a "WBC count of 15,000 with 65% of the cells being mature neutrophils and an increase in stabs or band cells to 10%". This report is typical of a "shift to the left", and will be taken into consideration along with history and physical findings, to determine how the patient's appendicitis will be treated.

Hope that helps. I was able to find quite a bit of info - just Google "CBC left shift".

thank you. I asked only because on nicole's last bw she had a present left shift and I didn't know what that was. I am not sure if she does on this bw but i should be recieving the results in the mail today.

Thanks a bunch