Decoding your child's lab tests

• CBC by age

  Hemoglobin, red blood cells, white blood cells with the differential, platelets, ESR — every marker is read against age-specific ranges and the reference intervals on your report, not an adult chart. A newborn, a one-year-old and a schoolchild have three different "normals".

• The differential and its crossovers

  In children, lymphocytes and neutrophils "switch places" twice as the child grows — the physiological crossovers of the differential that scare parents on forums most often. We explain what is age physiology and what is genuinely worth showing to a doctor.

• Urinalysis

  Specific gravity, pH, protein, white blood cells, salts and epithelium in a child's urine test: what is acceptable, what can appear after a fever or dehydration, and what to bring to a pediatrician or nephrologist.

• Blood chemistry and deficiencies

  Glucose, ferritin and iron, vitamin D, liver enzymes, calcium and phosphorus — adjusted for age. We show which values to read together and what to ask the doctor about deficiencies in a growing child.

• The Latin abbreviations

  WBC, RBC, HGB, MCV, RDW, PLT from the report — in plain language: what each index measures and why it may deviate specifically in children.

• Trends across several reports

  Upload previous results together with the fresh ones — the breakdown lines them up by date and shows what changed: is hemoglobin recovering after treatment, has the inflammation resolved.

The breakdown does not replace a pediatrician: diagnosis and treatment happen only at an in-person visit. The service helps you understand the report and arrive with questions instead of anxiety.

• Is my child's age taken into account?
  Yes — that is the whole point of a child-specific breakdown. Markers are checked against the ranges for the age and the reference intervals printed on your report, not an adult chart. The same result reads differently at six months, three years and twelve, and the breakdown accounts for that.
• Will a report from a public clinic work?
  Yes. A phone photo, a scan or a PDF from any lab or clinic works. The main thing is that the numbers, units and reference ranges are legible; if something is blurry, retake the photo in good light.
• How much does it cost?
  The same as a regular lab decoding: 390 RUB — a one-time card payment with no subscription and no recurring charges; the receipt goes to your email. The current price, including promotions, is shown in the form before you start.
• Does this replace a pediatrician?
  No. The breakdown explains the numbers and helps you prepare questions for the visit, but it does not diagnose or prescribe — only a doctor who sees the child does that. Our job is to keep the week of waiting for an appointment from becoming a week of anxious googling.
• Can ChatGPT decode a child's lab report?
  Partly: a general chatbot can explain what hemoglobin is, but it reads age-specific ranges and report tables unreliably — it does not check your lab's reference intervals, does not account for the differential crossovers, and may invent values. A specialized breakdown recognizes the report, reads it by the child's age and says plainly where the data is insufficient.
• What if the values are far out of range?
  The breakdown will name plainly and calmly what needs a doctor's attention first — without softening and without alarmism. And with worrying symptoms — high fever, lethargy, a rash, labored breathing — do not wait for any breakdowns: call a doctor or emergency services (112).
• Which tests should a child take in the first place?
  If you have no reports yet and the question is where to start, we have a separate page: which tests should a child take — a basic list by age and occasion. Once the results are in hand, come back here to decode them.