Lab results - looking for opinions [PLEASE READ 1ST POST]

Is it normal for a 13-year-old to have a sedimentation rate of 58 following a severe case of tonsillitis? She was running high fevers—between 102 and 104°F—for four straight days. Her CBC is actually fine. She’s historically dealt with anemia and iron deficiency issues, but her most recent blood work shows everything is back to baseline, except for this one number. Can the sedimentation rate really spike that high due to inflammation, and does it typically take a long time to settle down?

BTW

After three days of treatment for the tonsillitis, the patient developed these tiny red spots across her back. The doctor ordered some tests, and well, we ended up with these results... Now I'm left wondering: could this be linked to the infection itself, or is it more likely an allergic reaction to the penicillin or other medications she's been prescribed?

Austin Fowler said:Is it actually normal for a 13-year-old to have a sedimentation rate of 58 after dealing with a severe, heavy case of tonsillitis? She had a fever hovering between 102 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit for four straight days. Her complete blood count looks fine, though she does struggle with anemia and iron deficiencies; however, her most recent labs showed everything was back within range. It’s just this one elevated sedimentation level that has me questioning things. Does this have a direct correlation with the inflammation, and is it possible for it to be that high? Does it take a while to settle down?

By the way,

after three days of treating the tonsillitis, the patient developed these tiny red spots across her back. The doctor ordered some tests, and well, we ended up with the results we have. Now I’m sitting here wondering if this is tied to the initial infection, or if it might just be an allergic reaction to the penicillin or the other medications she's been prescribed...

An elevated sedimentation rate is simply an indicator that there is inflammation present in the body. If she has been taking antibiotics, that number should ideally start trending downward. If the sedimentation remains stubbornly high, further diagnostic testing would be necessary to pinpoint the cause.

So, Doc says the sedimentation rate is dropping slowly... I can only imagine how high it must have been when she was dealing with that inflammation and the fever. It just makes me wonder—is it actually normal for it to spike that much from a single bout of illness? The infection was incredibly intense, but still... I’m curious if hitting those levels is standard. I read somewhere that some people have seen numbers climb past 130 or even 140... though I have no idea what kind of massive infections would cause that.

Austin Fowler said:Well, Doc mentioned that the sedimentation rate drops off slowly. I can only imagine how high it must have been back when she was dealing with that full-blown infection and the fever was spiking. It makes me wonder—is it actually typical for things to spike that drastically from just one bout of inflammation? The infection was pretty intense, sure, but still... I’m curious if hitting those levels is standard. I’ve read cases where people hit 130 or even 140. I don't know what kind of massive systemic issues those folks were fighting, but still...

Of course it can climb that high. Regardless of how severe the underlying infection is, everyone’s body responds differently.

It was honestly terrible... she could barely even speak. The whole thing just felt completely overwhelming, and I still can't wrap my head around why they wouldn't just go ahead and remove her tonsils. Her fever stayed stuck above 102°F for four straight days. They had her on penicillin, but as soon as the fever finally broke, she developed this minor rash across her back and neck. Once that happened, the doctor had to stop the penicillin immediately and order more tests. Thankfully, her blood work looks okay, though her sedimentation rate is elevated. She’s heading in for additional testing now, though the doctor suspects the rash and the high sedimentation are just side effects of such intense inflammation. I'm just hoping everything turns out fine.

In the blood work results, the enzyme levels show ALT at 11 (not quite at the lower limit) and GGT at 6, which is actually below the range.
These are the lab results for a 12-year-old child. Does anyone have any insight into what kind of issue this might indicate?

Could someone please clarify what this actually means for me?
The IgM came back positive
And the IgG is at 34j/ml which is listed as equivocal????
(regarding Epstein-Barr)

Greetings, everyone.
It seems many of you are jumping straight to conclusions about hepatitis or even more serious diseases.
The moment you see elevated ALT and IBM levels, the logical step is to run a titer for EBV and CMV to rule out mononucleosis—I actually just dealt with that myself two weeks ago. Usually, you'll see an uptick in GGT as well. There's no need to panic, but I suggest sticking to a strict liver-friendly diet for at least 15 days before retesting your enzyme levels. Rest is also vital, along with taking a B-complex supplement three times a day. Avoid carbonated drinks, stay away from greasy foods, and obviously, cut out all alcohol entirely. For me, sticking to plain white rice for several days made a world of difference.
Stay strong. I'm wishing everyone a quick recovery and seeing those numbers return to normal soon.
Brenda Turner7

So, I just got my bloodwork back and apparently my white cell count is sitting at 11.9, which is a bit high since the standard range here is usually somewhere between 3.4 and 9.6. On top of that, my urinalysis is looking pretty messy—it shows sediment in the field, about 10-15 leukocytes, a ton of squamous epithelium, and plenty of bacteria.
I’ve never actually dealt with any bacterial issues before, so I'm wondering if this could just be from catching a chill and having cold urine, or maybe it's some weird side effect of early pregnancy?

Just a little bit of sweetness, nothing crazy.

While the white blood cell count isn't technically elevated—even if it falls outside the standard range—it's actually quite common during pregnancy. However, the presence of leukocytes and squamous epithelial cells in the urine suggests a possible bladder infection, so I would definitely recommend getting a urine culture done...

It’s really not a big deal. She’s heading to the ER, and they'll probably just throw some antibiotics at her, which should clear everything right up.

So, what you're actually telling me is that after all this hassle, I should just go ahead and get my blood and urine tested all over again?

If those results were obtained within the last three or four days and you haven't noticed any changes in your general condition, there is likely no need to repeat these tests; perhaps just adding a urine culture would be sufficient...

In the meantime, stick to some cranberry juice or maybe some uva ursi tea—personally, I’d go with the cranberry, it tastes way better. Just whatever you do, don't mix them together; one's acidic and the other is alkaline, so you'll just end up neutralizing the whole thing and wasting your time. Also, make sure you're cranking up the fluids. The goal here is to flush your system out as much as possible.

I don't want to clutter things up by starting a whole new thread, but I had some blood work done today and everything looks pretty good overall. That said, a few numbers are slightly outside the standard range: my hemoglobin came back at 15.0 (the lab's range is 11.8-14.9), my hematocrit is 0.461 (range 0.354-0.450), and my MCV is 95.2 (range 76.5-92.1). Could someone help me make sense of these specific values? Thanks!

Emily Phillips16 said:I don't want to clutter things up by starting a whole new thread, but I had some blood work done today. Everything looks fine, except my hemoglobin came back at 15.0 (range 11.8-14.9), hematocrit is 0.461 (0.354-0.450), and MCV is 95.2 (76.5-92.1). Could someone help me make sense of these numbers? Thanks.

These results look perfectly fine to me. Don't get hung up on every single decimal point; those tiny deviations from the standard range are quite common and usually nothing to worry about.

Sandra Martin72 said:The results look solid. It doesn't have to be perfect down to the last decimal point; those tiny discrepancies are totally normal.

Got it, thanks! 🙂

Back in January 2007, my blood work showed my IBM and ALT levels were perfectly fine. Even my pre-op results from December 2007 were right within the normal range. I had my surgery in December and was discharged to recover at home, but shortly after, I caught some nasty viral bug—fever, coughing, the whole bit—that dragged on for about seven days. During that stretch, I was only taking basic fever reducers like Advil. On top of that, I was instructed to take Aspirin 81mg for a month following the procedure. A month later, I was back in the hospital for radioactive iodine treatment, since the surgery was to treat thyroid cancer. Now, looking at my discharge papers after the iodine therapy, my ALT and IBM levels are slightly elevated. Is it plausible that these numbers spiked because of the surgery, the radiation therapy, or that viral infection, or am I just chasing ghosts by looking at my liver?? help

Kimberly Scott95 said:Back in January 2007, my blood work showed AST and ALT levels were perfectly normal. The same went for my pre-op tests in December 2007. I had my surgery in December and was discharged home to recover. Shortly after, I caught some kind of virus—fever, coughing, the whole bit—that lasted about seven days. During that time, I was only taking over-the-counter fever reducers like Advil and similar stuff. I was also instructed to take Andol 100 for another month post-op. A month later, I was back in the hospital for radioactive iodine therapy (the surgery was for thyroid cancer). Well, now here we are: my discharge papers after the iodine treatment show slightly elevated ALT and AST levels. Is it possible these numbers spiked because of the surgery, the iodine therapy, or that viral infection, or am I looking for a liver issue here?? help

Can anyone weigh in on this?