Your patient has a hematocrit of 56%. You recall from your anatomy and physiology class that high hematocrits are often a sign of blood doping by athletes. However, your patient is an elderly man suffering from the flu. What is most likely accounting for his elevated hematocrit?

Remember that blood is a proportion.

Dehydration from flu

Explanation:

On centrifugation, blood forms different regions plasma region, the Buffy coat and the hematocrit which contains the erythrocytes or the red blood cells.

The normal range is between 37-52 percent of the total whole blood.

Any value below shows anemia and any value above indicates polycythemia.

Polycythemia is usually a sign of doping in athletes however for this elderly patient. It must have been caused due to dehydration from the flu.