Blood work:
A complete guide for monitoring HIV

Each lab typically provides “normal” ranges of values along with the test results, although some labs may differ in the exact ranges of the normal values. Remember to ask you physician for a copy of your laboratory results for your own personal records, so that you can monitor trends in your lab tests.

Red Blood Cells (RBCs)

Female: 4.0–5.3
Male : 4.5–6.1

million cells per cubic millimeter (million/mm3)

Hemoglobin (HB or HGB)

Female: 12–16
Male: 14–18

grams per deciliter (g/dl)

Hematocrit (HCT)

Female: 37–47
Male: 42–52

%

White Blood Cells (WBCs)

4.3–10.8

thousand cells per cubic millimeter (thousand/mm3)

Basophil % of White Blood Cells

0–3

%

Eosinophil % of White Blood Cells

0–7

%

Lymphocyte % of White Blood Cells

12–50

%

Monocyte % of White Blood Cells

0–12

%

Neutrophil % of White Blood Cells

40–73

%

Lymphocyte Subsets:

Total T Lymphocytes (CD3)

990–1,910

cells per cubic millimeter (cells/mm3)

Total CD4 T cells

590–1,120

cells per cubic millimeter (cells/mm3)

Total CD8 T cells

330–790

cells per cubic millimeter (cells/mm3)

T-lymphocyte percentage (CD3 %)

61–85

%

CD4 T-cell percentage (CD4 %)

28–58

%

CD8 T-cell percentage (CD8 %)

19–48

%

Platelet Count

140,000–440,000

cells per cubic millimeter (cells/mm3)

Liver Function Tests:

ALT (SGPT or Alanine aminotransferase)

0–45

units/liter (u/L)

AST (SGOT or Aspartate aminotransferase)

0–41

units/liter (u/L)

Lactic Dehydrogenase (LDH)

50–115

units/liter (u/L)

Phosphatase (alkaline)

36–125

units/liter (u/L)

Bilirubin (total)

0.1–1.2

milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl)

Kidney Function Tests:

BUN (Blood Urea Nitrogen)

7–28

milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl)

Creatinine

0.6–1.5

milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl)

Uric Acid

3–7

milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl)

Red Blood Cell Indices:

Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH)

27–33

picogram per red blood cell

MCH Concentration (MCHC)

32–36

%

Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV)

79–100

femtoliters

Amylase

53–160*

units/liter (u/L)

Calcium (urine)

Female: < 250
Male: < 300

mg/day

Cholesterol

120–220

milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl)

Creatine Phospokinase (CK or CPK)

female: 10–79
male: 17–148

units/liter (u/L)

Glucose

70–125

mg/dl

Magnesium

0.6–1.0

mmol/l

Potassium

3.5–5.3

mmol/l

Sodium

135–146

mmol/l

Protein

6.0–8.3

grams per deciliter (g/dl)

Total Albumin

3.2–5.5

grams per deciliter (g/dl)

Globulin

1.5–3.8

grams per deciliter (g/dl)

Triglycerides

35–160

milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl)

Urea Nitrogen (see BUN)

7–28

milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl)

* In our review of lab reports, the normal range for amylase,
in particular, varied widely. As with all these values, it is important to examine your report to find the normal ranges for your lab.

Other tests

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Interpreting viral load numbers