Haemoglobin 67 g/l -do I need to go to a&e

[lillyrose32shp]

Hi,
I logged into my app to see my blood test result. - I can my haemoglobin is really low. I tried to contact my GP but unable to get through. Would be reasonable for me to a&e or should I wait?

Phone nhs24?

it sounds like you might be anemic. The GP can treat this but I don’t think it needs A&E unless you have other symptoms at the moment that make it an emergency.

If you're sure that you are looking at the correct thing then that really is very low and needs urgent action.
I'm surprised your GP has not been in contact already - a hb that low would result in a call from the lab to the practice and action taken straight away in my area.

At 67 you will need a blood transfusion and investigations to find out why it's so low, yes AE.

I agree - when my hb was 76, I was phoned and ordered to get myself to hospital for a thorough check - I ended up being admitted for a blood transfusion and then also needed a further two iron infusions as I was so anaemic.

OP - are you feeling tired, breathless or even just out of sorts?
That hb level is very low (I have recurrent anaemia and it can become life-threatening if not treated).
Please phone NHS111 or even do the NHS questionnaire on their website which will tell you what your next steps should be. If they advise hospital, then please go - even though I was admitted for a blood transfusion, they still discharged me later that evening so it doesn't usually mean an overnight stay.

I am surprised that your doctor hasn't contacted you over this but don't assume that that means everything is okay or that you're being dramatic as it may have been overlooked.

Good luck x

Depends on how badly you think you need help and if you're going to feel better or 100 times worse sitting in A&E?

Try and call your GP, I know its a long shot but you might get lucky and a receptionist might be able to pass on a quick message for you.

Phone 111. They can organise a phone call or f to f with a doctor, which is preferable to sitting for hours in A&E.

One important question- why did you have the blood test, do you have another condition?

Chat GPT reckons that a result below 70 is an emergency.

A result below 80 is considered severe anemia, so you're quite down the scale from that.

The thing is, I don't know if you can have a transfusion there and then? Although maybe you can; if you had a car crash they'd have blood ready wouldn't they. Sorry thinking out loud there.

Just go to A&E, take a book and some food and drink and see what they say. They might bring you back tomorrow or Monday for a blood infusion.

Have you continued to try and contact GP?

Yes attend A&E. You'll be admitted for a blood transfusion and full blood count, to see what your other cells (e.g. white cells, platelets and neutrophils) are doing.

Perhaps the Dr thinks it's an anomalous reading because your still upright?

My Dr rang me when my thyroid results were WAY off but that was because the lab rang her and said have you ticked the wrong box she IS in HOSPITAL right? RIGHT? not only was I not in hospital I was fine just feeling a bit "hot" driving myself to meetings with the windows down

Yes definitely A&E for a reading this low

Are the people on here advising this person not to go to A&E actually trained?

A&E is for accidents and emergencies it really isn't open house for anything. Yes of course this needs attention but the first port of call is always 111 or GP.
I wonder if the op has misread because blood results are always reviewed before being submitted when patients can view, as a pp said this would have been flagged up and referred to a hcp for attention.

A haemoglobin level that low absolutely is an emergency, not least the pathology of the cause

Did you manage to get through to GP OP? Does your results show your ferritin as well? When my results were v low, although actually slightly better than yours, the GP phoned back later the same day of blood test and arranged for me to go to A&E, so if you’ve not managed to get your GP I’d phone NHS24 for advice for sure.

Thank you for email response. My other blood test seem to be in range. I have been struggling for a while. I noticed my level were low but I wasn't sure if this would count as emergency. I will go into tommorrow. Does anybody know approximately, how long I would expected to wait to be seen- I need to arrange childcare.

This is a transfusion territory for sure.

My son had a result like this, all other bloods ok. He had an internal bleeding.

That is really hard to tell. Go in early morning, I would aim for around 7.30am. That should be the calmest time of the day.

I'd phone 111 for their advice, and see what they say.

I got down quite a bit lower than that during pregnancy, and all they did was put me on iron tablets, which did work, but took a few days before I felt any better.

I did manage to do a certain amount of stuff, because I just assumed that was how you felt in pregnancy so tried to get on with it, just with a lot of rests. I remember commenting that the action of standing up exhausted me so much I had to lie down.

There was no suggestion of A&E, they just told me to pick up a prescription when I could, so it didn't sound too worrying.
If they had said A&E I'd have had the choice of ambulance or cycling*, so probably a good thing because I'd probably have tried cycling. And it was uphill.

*No money for taxi, and we were students and knew no one with a car.

If she hasnt misread. A hb of 6.7 would have immediately been flagged up and acted on. Yes errors occur but if I were the op before subjecting myself to 12hrs in A&E I'd ring the gp (if still open and many are, they certainly would've been at 3pm when she posted) and ask for clarification. Barring that I'd ring 111 and ask them to double check.

I'm a doctor, and often see referrals for anaemic patients on call. A Hb of that level may or may not need transfusion, but these days is more likely to be booked in for an urgent iron infusion - things have moved on in the last 10 years or so in terms of recognising that transfusion isn't always the right thing. In any event , unless you were actively having a large bleed right now, you should not be transfused overnight (there is increased risk of harm to patients having out of hours transfusion for various reasons), so even if you go to A&E now, you won't get transfused unless it was real emergency. Being booked in for an iron infusion in a couple of days is a lot better for you than sitting on a chair in A&E overnight or waiting up to 24 hours for a bed - which is the dreadful reality these days in many places.

It really depends on why the bloods were taken, what symptoms you are having and what previous results looked like.

Assuming that you don't have significant symptoms, call your GP first thing in the morning after the weekend (assuming that your GP surgery were who requested the blood test). If you have chronic symptoms , then it's ok to wait. Clearly if you are feeling very unwell, you should seek medical advice.

The Blood microscopy results are not back yet but previous blood test showed my ferritin was 2.

Thank you will do that - the blood were ordered by hospital. So it quite possible my GP has not seen them yet.

I really can’t understand how a result like that has been put up with no contact from the GP , it’s bizarre .

I have tried contacting my GP. It definitely correct. The test was ordered by hospital so GP may have not result yet.