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Abstract
Objective: The white cell count (WCC) can be raised in pregnancy, but there is no published data-set to support a normal range. This study aimed to develop one.
Methods: The WCC of 500 consecutive labouring women at term receiving regional anaesthesia and 500 consecutive women delivered at term by elective caesarean section were retrieved from an electronic database.
Results: The mean and derived reference range at term with no labour was 8.9 × 109/L (5–13 109/L) and for the labouring group was 15.3 × 109/L (5.3–25.3 × 109/L). Fifteen women had a WCC > 25.3 × 109/L (range 25.4–33.5 × 109/L) not associated with severe sepsis.
Conclusion: Two distinct normal ranges have been established to aid clinicians recognise normal and abnormal results.
Declaration of interest
The authors report no declarations of interest.