LABS

Common Labs 

CBC

• RBC:  Adults Male: 4.7-6.1 Female: 4.2-5.4 Purpose: To check for 
• Hematocrit:  Adults Male: 42-%-52% Female: 37%-48% (Ratio of RBCs to Plasma)  Purpose: 
• Hemoglobin Adults  Male: 13.2-17.3 g/dL Female: 11.7-15.5 g/dL (measuring gas-carrying capacity of RBC) Purpose: 
• RBC Indices: (Mean corpuscular volume): 80-95
• Mean corpuscular hemoglobin: 27-31
• Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration: 32-36
• White Blood Cell Count: Adults: 5000, 10,000 Purpose: 

With Differential 

• Neutrophils: Segmented 25000-8000
• Lymphocytes: 1000-4000
• Monocytes: 100-700
• Eosinophils: 50-500
• Basophils: 25-100

Coagulation Studies 

They are used to detect bleeding disorders

 

• Prothrombin Time: 11-12.5 seconds 🙋Memory Trick: I love to eat my lunch at this time 11-12:30. Visualize yourself eating lunch at 11-12:30. Visualize a clock with the time set to 11:00 and ending at 12:30 this clock and has PT written on it in big red letters and this reminds you that your patient has Anemia. The more detailed the more you will remember! 
• INR: 0.8-1.1 
• APTT: 30-40 seconds 🙋Memory Trick: I also love to take quick breaks that last from 30-40 seconds. Envision yourself taking a break and leaning against a medication cart with big letters with APTT written on it, a clock is above it is counting down from 40 seconds to 30 seconds and this medication card has medications in it to treat bleeding disorders like coumadin or warfarin. 
• Fibrinogen 200-400 
• Platelets: 150,000-400,000  🙋Memory Trick: If platelets/thrombocytes are tiny blood cells then the number value has to be large. 
• Bleeding Time  2-7 min. (Measure the ability of the small blood cells to clot) 

Blood Chemistries and Lipid Studies

• AST: 4-36 
  ALT: 30-120
• Albumin 3-3.5 
• Bilirubin 0.3-1.0 
• Aspartate aminotransferase: 0-35 
• Gamma-glutamyl: Males & Females >45 yr: 8-38 Females <45 yr: 5-27
• Trigylcerides Male: 40-100 Female: 35-135 High 200-499 Very High >500

Lipid Studies 

• Cholesterol:  <200 mg/dL
•  HDL : Male: >40 mg/dL female: >50 mg/dL 🙋Memory Trick:   These people are high with happiness because they are healthy with the good fats. Picture an athletic person flexing with a huge smile and their T-shirt has the letters HDL on it. 
• LDL:  <100 mg/dL 🙋These people feel lousy because they are unhealthy with the bad fats. Picture and obese person feeling lousy with LDL on their T-shirt.

Cardiac Markers  

•   Creatine Kinase CK: Male: 20-200 U/L Female: 20-180 U/L (Cardiac enzyme released when there is cardiac damage) 
• b-type natriuretic peptide BNP : >100pg/mL (elevation helps distigush cardiac vs. respiratory causes of dyspnea) 
• Troponin (Cardiac) Troponin 1: <0.3 is negative (Contractile protiens released after MI) 
• Troponin T <0.1
• Myoglobin <90

Renal

• Creatinine: Males: 0.6-1.3 Females: 0.5-1.1   
• BUN 10-20 🙋Memory Trick: It costs 10-20 dollars to buy a good burger. 

Blood Sugar

• Glucose (Fasting) 70-99 mg/DL 
• Insulin (Fasing) 4-24 u/mL 

Electrolytes 

• Magnesium 1.5-2.5 mEq/L (>2.5=hypermagnesemia) (<1.2=hypomagnesemia) 
• Potassium 3.5-5.0 mEq/L (>5.0=hyperkalemia)(<3.5=hypokalemia) 
• Sodium 135-145 mEq/L  (>145 =hypernatemia) (<135=hyponatremia) 
• Calcium 8.6-10.3 mg/dL (>10.3=hypercalemia) (<8.6=hypocalemia) 
• Phosphate 2.4-4.4 mg/dL (>4.4=hyperphosphatemia) (<2.4=hypophosphatemia) 

*keep in mind that lab values may vary slightly. Not all hospitals use the same values.

*Also keep in mind that we look at the patient as a whole in nursing. If the readings are abnormal assess subjective and objectively. What can you see physically? How is the patient feeling?  

Citation: Yoost, Barbara L., and Lynne R. Crawford. Fundamentals of Nursing: Active Learning for Collaborative Practice. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier, 2016. Print. Davis's Laboratory and Diagnostic Tests | Official Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2017.