Can a blood routine test detect leukemia?

Blood routine can preliminarily screen for leukemia, but diagnosis requires further examination such as bone marrow puncture. Leukemia may manifest as abnormal increase or decrease in white blood cells, decrease in hemoglobin, thrombocytopenia, and other abnormal blood routine indicators.

Blood routine is a commonly used method for leukemia screening, which can detect abnormal clues by detecting the number and morphological changes of various blood cells in peripheral blood. Acute leukemia patients' blood routine often shows a significant increase or decrease in white blood cells, accompanied by an increase in the proportion of immature cells, and hemoglobin and platelet counts are usually lower than the normal range. Early chronic leukemia may only present as a mild increase in white blood cell count, gradually leading to anemia and thrombocytopenia as the condition progresses. Some types of leukemia, such as acute promyelocytic leukemia, show characteristic abnormal promyelocytes in blood smears. However, blood routine examination has limitations, and some early or special types of leukemia may not have typical blood routine abnormalities. Blood diseases such as myelodysplastic syndrome and aplastic anemia can also exhibit similar changes in blood routine. Viral infection or drug reactions may cause transient changes in the number of blood cells, which may overlap with the manifestations of leukemia. Temporary bone marrow hematopoietic abnormalities in children or physiological anemia during pregnancy may also interfere with the judgment. If abnormal blood routine is found, timely medical treatment should be sought. Hematology doctors will make comprehensive judgments based on clinical manifestations, blood smear microscopy, flow cytometry, cytogenetic examination, and bone marrow biopsy. In daily life, one should avoid exposure to chemical toxins such as benzene, maintain a regular sleep routine, and be alert to symptoms such as persistent fatigue, bleeding tendency, or repeated infections.