What is the Difference Between CBC and Hemogram

The main difference between CBC and hemogram is that CBC includes complete blood count tests, whereas hemogram contains complete blood count tests (CBC) and ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate).

CBC and hemogram are two types of blood tests that measure overall health while detecting disorders, including anemia, infection, and leukemia.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is CBC
     – Definition, Features, Importance
2. What is Hemogram
     – Definition, Features, Importance
3. Similarities – CBC and Hemogram
     – Outline of Common Features
4. Difference Between CBC and Hemogram
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms                                                                                                                  

CBC, Hemogram

What is CBC

CBC, or complete blood count, is a blood test that is important to measure the overall health of a person. It can help to detect anemia, infection, and leukemia. Generally, CBC measures five parameters: measurement of red blood cells, which carry oxygen; white blood cells, which fight infections; hemoglobin, which is the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells; hematocrit, which is the amount of red blood cells in the blood, and platelets, which help the blood to clot. Generally, normal red blood cell count is 4.0 to 5.9 x 10*12/L in men and 3.8 to 5.2 x 10*12/L in women. Moreover, a normal white blood cell count is 4,500 to 11,000 WBCs per microliter.

Figure 1: Blood Tests

Furthermore, normal hemoglobin count is 3.8 to 17.2 g/dL in men and 12.1 to 15.1 g/dL in women. In addition, normal hematocrit count is 41%-50% in men and 36%-44% in women, while normal platelets count is 150,000 to 450,000 platelets per microliter of blood in adults. However, in disease conditions, unusual increases and decreases can occur in cell counts. Therefore, CBC is important to check normal health, diagnose a medical condition, and check medical conditions.      

What is Hemogram

Hemogram is a blood test that is necessary to detect anemia, infections, hematological cancers, acute hemorrhagic states, allergies, and immunodeficiencies. In fact, a hemogram includes both CBC (complete blood count) and ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate). Here, CBC includes the measurement of red blood cells, white blood cells, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and platelets. Meanwhile, ESR is the rate at which the red blood cells descend over a period of one hour in anticoagulated whole blood in a standardized tube known as a Westergren tube. Normally, the test measures the distance of red blood cells in the tube, and it comes in millimeters.

Figure 2: Blood Tubes

Moreover, ESR is important for the non-specific measure of inflammation. ESR especially increases in inflammation, anemia, pregnancy, infections, autoimmune disorders, kidney diseases, and in cancers. When inflammation is present, blood contains a high proportion of fibrinogen. Here, fibrinogen serves as a pro-sedimentation factor that sticks red blood cells to each other. Usually, this results in an increase in the sedimentation rate of red blood cells due to the increase in density. ESR decreases in leukemia, polycythemia, sickle cell anemia, hyperviscosity, chronic fatigue syndrome, congestive heart failure, and low plasma protein.

Similarities Between CBC and Hemogram

• CBC and hemogram are two types of blood tests that measure overall health.
• Both tests are important for detecting disorders, including anemia, infection, and leukemia.
• They check abnormalities in the blood, indicating underlying diseases.
• Both evaluate overall health.
• They monitor underlying blood disorders.

Difference Between CBC and Hemogram

Definition

CBC refers to the full blood count, which is a set of medical laboratory tests that provide information about the cells in a person’s blood, while a hemogram refers to a systematic report of the findings from a blood examination.

Importance

Generally, CBC is the full blood count, while a hemogram includes both CBC and ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate).

Uses

CBC is important to detect anemia, infection, and leukemia, while a hemogram is important to detect anemia, bone marrow disorders, cancers, infection, and inflammation.

Conclusion

In brief, CBC and hemogram are two types of blood tests important for the detection of different blood disorders. CBC or complete blood count is the complete blood count of a person. It detects disorders like anemia, infection, and leukemia. In comparison, a hemogram is a blood test that includes both CBC and ESR. Therefore, apart from the CBC, a hemogram measures the degree of inflammation. Hence, the main difference between CBC and hemogram is the type of measurements of disorders.

References:

1. What is CBC Test and its uses, test results, and normal range? (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2023
2. Celkan TT. What does a hemogram say to us? Turk Pediatri Ars. 2020 Jun 19;55(2):103-116. doi: 10.14744/TurkPediatriArs.2019.76301. PMID: 32684755; PMCID: PMC7344121.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Hematology” By Mahmood Jawdat – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Vacutainer blood bottles” By Tannim101 – Own Work (CC BY 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia