MCHC
What it measures, and what changes the number.
MCHC, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, describes how concentrated hemoglobin is inside the red blood cells, as opposed to MCH, which gives the amount per cell. It is usually calculated by dividing hemoglobin by hematocrit.
It belongs to the red cell indices of the complete blood count and is read with MCV, MCH, RDW, hemoglobin and hematocrit. Laboratories also use it as a quality check, because an unexpected MCHC can point to a problem with the sample rather than with the cells.
The sample is collected in an EDTA tube without fasting. Hemolysis, lipemia and cold agglutinins (antibodies that make red cells clump at room temperature) can distort the value, and labs sometimes warm the sample and rerun it. Labs may print it as Conc. de hgb. corpuscular media (CHCM) or Conc. hemoglobina corpuscular mitjana (CHCM).
Often read alongside: MCH, MCV, Hemoglobin, Hematocrit, RDW