Preparticipation Screening of College Athletes: Value of the Complete Blood Cell Count

In brief: A retrospective study of 1,067 college athletes was done to determine the prevalence of certain abnormalities in their preseason complete blood cell count. The authors analyzed the values for white blood cell count, hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume, and platelet count. In addition, they reviewed the literature to determine if an abnormality in any of these parameters alters athletic performance. Their conclusion: Only a hemoglobin level is useful in preseason evaluations.