LUC, What Is That?

LUC, an acronym for “large unstained cells”, is displayed on our automatic cell counter (Technicon H3) when large peroxidase-negative cells cannot be characterized further as large lymphocytes, “virocytes”, or stem cells. Each year, we report ∼30 000 laboratory results with LUC, of which 11% are abnormally high. (reference interval ≤0.2 × 109/L). We report ∼65 000 blood leukocyte results, 90 000 blood hemoglobin results, and 1.6 million laboratory results per year. We have used the name LUC on the laboratory result-reporting scheme for 4 years. The automatic cell count is followed by a manual cell count in …

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