Laboratory Result Interpretations Flashcards
psychogenic polydipsia
Overhydration
serum sodium is reduced below 135 mEq/L
Overhydration
Because the consumed water is excreted by the kidneys, the urine is also dilute in this ion.
Overhydration
In fact, the osmolality of urine will be low—that is, less than 300 mOsm/kg.
Overhydration
Often accompanying hyponatremia are low values of the hematocrit and low values of BUN
Overhydration
Urinalysis in the fluid-restricted patient will reveal urinary sodium of less than 25 mEq/L and low osmolalities.
Overhydration
The potassium may also be low, although it often remains within the reference range.
Overhydration
Because mainly water is excreted in urine in this condition, the total 24-hour sodium excre- tion will be low
Overhydration
block the chloride pump in the loop of Henle, thereby blocking the formation of the ion gra- dients via the countercurrent multiplier, necessary for water conservation. Thus, water is lost.
Diuretics
Also, because sodium is no longer retained because it follows chloride in the loop, it also is depleted from serum.
Diuretics
Thus, unlike in overhydration, the total 24-hour sodium excretion is high
Diuretics
pattern resembles overhydration (dilute serum and urine), except that loop diuretics cause severe potassium deple- tion unless the diuretic is combined with a potassium-sparing diuretic such as triamterene.
Diuretics
Combined hyponatremia and hypokalemia with a high uri- nary sodium and potassium 24-hour excretion point to diuretic use.
Diuretics
In this condition, secondary to head trauma, seizures, other CNS diseases, and neoplastic conditions, espe- cially lung, breast, and ovarian cancers that secrete ADH-like hormones, the serum sodium is depressed due to the excess retention of water in the collecting ducts.
SIADH
This results in depletion of water in the renal tubules, thereby concentrating the urine.
SIADH
Therefore, while the serum is dilute in sodium (hypotonic), the urine is concentrated to levels of over 40 mEq/L and the urine osmolality exceeds 300 mOsm/kg, while the serum osmolal- ity is less than 280 mOsm/kg.
SIADH
This condition is second- ary to Addison disease and AIDS-related hypoadrenalism.
Aldosterone Deficit
Without aldo- sterone, the Na+–K+ and Na+–H+ exchange in the distal convoluted tubules and collecting ducts does not occur.
Aldosterone Deficit
Therefore, serum sodium concentra- tion is reduced, while serum potassium concentration increases, and there is a mild metabolic acidosis.
Aldosterone Deficit
Urinary sodium increases but not to the high levels seen in SIADH, and the osmolality of urine is also not so elevated as in SIADH.
Aldosterone Deficit
This rare condition resem- bles diuretic use except that the hyponatremia is not corrected with fluid restriction.
Bartter Syndrome
This syndrome is actually a complex of diseases, each of which is caused by mutations of genes that encode ion transporter proteins in the thick portion of the ascending loop of Henle.
Bartter Syndrome
caused by absence or mutations of the Na-K-2Cl symporter protein (SLC12A2 or NKCC2 gene) or the ROMK/KCNJ1- encoded potassium channel protein.
Bartter Syndrome
the CLCNKB gene–encoded chloride channel protein is defective.
classic Bartter syndrome
associated with hearing loss (sensorimotor loss–associated), the BSND gene–encoded accessory chlo- ride channel protein is dysfunctional.
Bartter syndrome
the CASR (calcium-sensing receptor) gene–encoded calcium transporter protein is defective, leading to superimposed hypocalcemia.
Bartter Syndrome
In Gitelman syndrome, which parallels this syndrome but is a milder form of disease, mutations in the NCC gene–encoded sodium-chloride symporter protein, also termed the thiazide-sensitive Na+-Cl− cotransporter protein (Ped- ersen et al., 2010), cause malfunction of reabsorption of sodium and chloride ions from the tubular fluid into the cells of the distal convoluted tubule.
Bartter Syndrome
In all forms of this disease, as in diuretic use, there is a high 24-hour sodium and potassium excretion.
Bartter Syndrome
In patients with diabetes mellitus, if they are in a hyperosmolar state—that is, in which the serum glucose is markedly elevated (say, around 700 mg/dL)—the hyperosmolarity of serum causes efflux of cellular water, with a conse- quent osmotic dilution of serum sodium.
Diabetic Hyperosmolar State
Roughly, for each 100 mg/dL increase in serum glucose, there is a 1.6 mEq/L decrease in the serum Na+ concentration.
Diabetic Hyperosmolar State
Because transport of glucose into cells is accompanied by concurrent transport of potassium into cells, low insulin levels also cause high serum potassium.
Diabetic Hyperosmolar State
Thus, the net effect of diabetic hyperosmolar states is a low serum sodium and a high serum potassium.
Diabetic Hyperosmolar State
This resembles hypoal- dosteronism, but the presence of abnormally high glucose levels signals the possibility of diabetes mellitus as the cause.
Diabetic Hyperosmolar State
This condition is usually caused by the presence of excess lipids in serum.
Pseudohyponatremia
No sodium ions are dissolved in lipids, which can take up a considerable volume of serum.
Pseudohyponatremia
If the absolute amount of sodium in a given volume of serum is determined, as is performed when using such methods of sodium determination as flame photometry, this value is divided by the sample vol- ume to get the concentration.
Pseudohyponatremia
However, part of this volume is lipid that has no sodium; thus, a falsely low value of sodium can be obtained.
Pseudohyponatremia
This artifact is eliminated by the use of ion-selective electrodes that directly determine the concentration of sodium and do not depend on knowledge of the vol- ume of serum.
Pseudohyponatremia
Note that although most modern, high-throughput chem- istry analyzers measure serum sodium using ion-selective electrodes, they perform a predilution (dilution prior to analysis) of the specimen (so-called indirect potentiometry); thus, the measurement is relative to volume and is susceptible to
Pseudohyponatremia
This can be caused by excess renal loss with high positive free water clearance (i.e., loss of water in excess of NaCl), excess sweating, and low water intake.
Dehydration
The serum sodium is ele- vated, as is the hematocrit (possibly masking a true anemia), and the urine sodium is also high due to increased renal excretion of NaCl.
Dehydration
may be central (neurogenic; i.e., due to decreased vasopressin secretion) or nephrogenic (i.e., due to decreased renal response).
Diabetes Insipidus
Functionally, this condition is the reverse of SIADH—that is, water retention in the tubules is not adequate.
Diabetes Insipidus
Although this condition is not completely understood and may be multi- factorial, current research suggests that either mutation and/or changes in protein expression of “water channel molecules” (renal aquaporins) and/ or the vasopressin V2 renal collecting tubule cell receptor may play a role in both pathologic water loss, such as in nephrogenic DI, and pathologic water retention, such as in SIADH
Diabetes Insipidus
The pat- tern is elevated serum sodium but dilute urinary sodium due to the func- tionally inadequate levels of ADH.
Diabetes Insipidus
This condition may result from adrenal hyperplasia, Cushing syndrome, Cushing disease (see endocrine section to come) and Conn syndrome, in which there is hyper- secretion of aldosterone from the zona glomerulosa.
Hyperaldosteronism
The levels of circulat- ing aldosterone are inappropriately high, causing excessive reabsorption of Na+ and excretion of K+ and H+ ions.
Hyperaldosteronism
The patient will be hypernatremic and hypokalemic and exhibit a mild metabolic alkalosis.
Hyperaldosteronism
Many of the causes overlap with those of hyponatremia, including overhydration; use of loop diuretics; SIADH; and Bartter syn- drome, as discussed earlier.
hypokalemia
Infusion of insulin to diabetics.
hypokalemia
This results in rather large influxes of potassium into cells, lowering its concentration in serum.
hypokalemia
Alkalosis.
hypokalemia
Red blood cells are themselves excellent buffers.
hypokalemia
They are capable of exchanging potassium for hydrogen ions.
hypokalemia
Thus, in acidosis, H+ ions enter red cells in exchange for K+ ions.
hypokalemia
Conversely, in alkalosis, H+ ions leave red cells (to neutralize excess base), while K+ ions enter the red cells.
hypokalemia
Vomiting.
Hypokalemia
The major loss is both H+ and K+ from the stomach.
Hypokalemia
Loss of K+ in gastric fluid may be less important than the overall fluid loss, which causes activation of aldosterone and renal wasting of K+.
Hypokalemia
Among the major causes are those that also cause hypernatremia—for exam- ple, dehydration and DI—acidosis and diabetes mellitus (as discussed earlier), and hemolysis.
Hyperkalemia
Hypoadrenalism resulting in low levels of aldosterone
Hyperkalemia
Any kind of cell damage, such as rhabdomyolysis, and especially hemolysis of erythrocytes
Hyperkalemia
In hemolysis, all of the intracellular K+ is extruded into plasma.
Hyperkalemia
Another analyte that is con- centrated in red cells that rises with K+ in hemolysis is LD.
Hyperkalemia
Concomitant elevations of potassium and LD in serum should be taken as indications of hemolysis either artifactually after a blood sample has been taken from the patient or, less commonly, hemolysis from an underlying hemolytic condition.
Hyperkalemia
must be neutralized by counterions, most of which, in blood, are constituted by chloride and bicarbonate ions, and, to a lesser degree, by phosphate, sulfate, and protein carboxylate groups.
sodium ions
Normal serum sodium
140 mEq/L
Normal serum chloride
100 mEq/L
Normal serum bicarbonate
24 mEq/L
defined as Na+ − (Cl− + HCO3−), which, for normal individuals, is around 16
Anion Gap
comprises the other counterions that neutralize sodium but are not measured in serum
16 mEq/L
the acid will be buffered by bicarbonate (converted to H2CO3)
metabolic acidosis (rise in H+ ion concentration is accompanied by a corresponding rise in Cl− ions)
The bicarbonate value will therefore decrease, but there will be a 1 : 1 increase in chloride ion. Thus, there will be no change in the anion gap.
metabolic acidosis (rise in H+ ion concentration is accompanied by a corresponding rise in Cl− ions)
bicarbonate is reduced but there is no corresponding increase in Cl−
metabolic acidosis (acetoacetic acid/lactic acid/non-chloride-containing acid)
there is an increase in the anion gap that can reach values of 25 to 30 mEq/L
metabolic acidosis (acetoacetic acid/lactic acid/non-chloride-containing acid)
diabetic acidosis
acetoacetic acid
sepsis or hypoperfusion
lactic acid
signify the presence of high levels of basic protein, often a monoclonal paraprotein as occurs in plasma cell dyscrasias
Low Anion Gaps (1 to 3 mEq/L)
Basic protein contains ammonium ions, the counterions for which are
chloride and bicarbonate.
Now the “invisible” ion is ammonium, while there is a measurable increase in chloride and bicarbonate ions.
Low Anion Gaps (1 to 3 mEq/L)
serious sign of possible malignancy—for example, multiple myeloma.
Low Anion Gaps (1 to 3 mEq/L)
The four analytes that aid in the diagnosis of this condition are
BUN, creatinine, calcium, and phosphate.
neither is produced in the kidneys, yet both are excellent indicators of renal conditions
BUN or creatinine
Urea nitrogen is generally measured in plasma or serum, but it has historically been referred to as
BUN
The formula for urea is
H2N—CO—NH2.
per mole of urea
two moles of nitrogen
This is the end product of NH3 metabolism in the liver
BUN
is excreted by the renal tubules at a rate that is roughly proportional to the glomerular filtration rate (GFR).
Urea
Note, therefore, that the retained urea—that is, plasma or serum urea or BUN— is approximately inversely proportional to the GFR—that is,
BUN∝1/GFR