Diagnostics Flashcards
Why would RBC count be low?
anemia (blood loss, problem with bone marrow)
Why would RBC count be high?
- dehydration
- adaptation to high altitude
- adaptation to respiratory problems (COPD, smoker)
When might WBCs be high?
- infection
- inflammation (response to tissue trauma)
- anxiety/stress
- leukemia
When might WBCs be low?
- bone marrow problem
- immunodeficiency
What are the different types of leukocytes and what might an elevation in each indicate?
- neutrophils - bacterial infection
- lymphocytes - viral infection
- monocytes - severe infetion, chronic infection
- eosinophils - parasite, allergy
- basophils - allergy, parasite
What is a “shift to the left?”
- appearance of immature cells, particularly neutrophils, called band cells
- seen when production of cells is accelerated (they don’t have time to mature)
- indicative of severe infection
What might a high hematocrit indicate?
- dehydration or fluid volume deficit
- anemia
What might a high low hematocrit indicate?
- fluid volume excess
- polycythemia
What might a high level of sodium indicate?
- dehydration
- excessive water loss (burns)
- excessive nutritional intake
What might a low level of sodium indicate?
- fluid volume overload
- nutritional deficit
- side effect of a diuretic
- problem with kidneys
What can happen in someone with hypernatremia?
- coma
- convulsions
- thirst
- agitation
- restlessness
What might cause a high level of potassium?
- kidney disease
- potassium-sparing diuretics
What might cause a low level of potassium?
- nutritional deficit
- non-potassium sparing diuretics
- alcoholism
Why is hyperkalemia dangerous?
it can cause arrhythmias
What is BUN?
- blood urea nitrogen
- urea is a byproduct of protein breakdown, it is normally filtered out by the kidneys
What does BUN evaluate?
kidney function
What might a high BUN indicate?
kidney problem
What is creatinine?
waste product made by muscles, usually filtered out by kidneys
What might a high level of creatinine mean?
kidney problem
What is the GFR? What does it measure?
- glomerular filtration rate
- a measure of how much blood is being passed through the glomeruli each minute
- evaluates kidney function
What does a low GFR indicate?
- kidney damage
- dehydration (less blood to kidney d/t low blood pressure)
What is PT/INR and what does it measure?
- prothrombin time/international normalized ratio
- measures how long it takes blood to clot via the extrinsic and common pathway
What is PTT and what does it measure?
- partial thromboplastin time
- measures how long it takes blood to clot via the intrinsic pathway
When would you want INR to be elevated?
therapeutic level for warfarin/coumadin
