Common Laboratory Values

what are the 4 main causes of hyponatremia?

-increased water input

-decreased water output

-increased water movement extracellularly

-decreased Na+ input

what are the 3 main causes of hypernatremia?

-increased water output

-increased water movement intracellularly

-increased Na+ input

what are the 3 main causes of hypokalemia?

-decreased input

-increased output

-increased movement intracellularly

what are the 3 main causes of hyperkalemia?

-decreased output

-increased movement extracellularly

-pseudohyperkalemia

what are the 2 primary anions?

chloride and bicarbonate

what is the difference between azotemia and uremia?

-azo: elevated BUN without symptoms

-ure: elevated BUN with symptoms

what are 3 common changes to BUN?

-decreased BUN due to decreased production

-increased BUN due to increased production

-increased BUN due to decreased output

what are 3 common changes to creatinine?

-decreased creatinine due to decreased production

-increased creatinine due to increased production

-increased creatinine due to decreased output

what are 4 common causes of hypoglycemia?

-increased insulin production or activity

-decreased glucose input

-increased glucose output

-medications with unknown mechanism

what are 2 common types of hyperglycemia?

-decreased insulin production or activity

-decreased glucose output

what are 5 common causes of hypocalcemia?

-PTH deficiency or resistance

-vitamin D deficiency or resistance

-decreased osteoclast activity

-increased Ca2+ deposition

-chelation

what are 5 common causes of hypercalcemia?

-PTH excess

-vitamin D excess

-malignancy

-increased Ca2+ input

-decreased Ca2+ output

what are 3 common factors that cause either hypomagnesemia or hypermagnesemia?

-input

-output

-chelation

what are 3 common factors that cause either hypophosphatemia or hyperphosphatemia?

-input

-output

-intra/extracellular movement

what are 2 causes of hypoalbuminemia and the 2 results?

-decreased production and increased output

-inflammation and malignancy

what is the main difference between total bilirubin and direct bilirubin?

direct bilirubin refers to bilirubin that has been conjugated in the liver

what are the 2 main causes of hyperbilirubinemia?

-increased production

-decreased output

what are icterus and kernicterus?

icterus is yellowing of the skin and eyes; kernicterus is an extreme form that can be harmful to the CNS and is often seen in babies

what are 4 factors that increase alkaline phosphatase (ALP)?

-hepatic disease

-biliary disease

-bone turnover

-pregnancy

what are 3 factors that increase gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT)?

-hepatic disease

-biliary disease

-pancreatic disease

what is transaminitis and its cause?

increased alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) due to acute hepatocellular injury

what 2 factors lead to higher ALT sources and what 2 factors lead to higher AST sources?

-ALT: liver and abdominal fat

-AST: liver (especially related to alcohol) and muscle

what 7 values make up a basic metabolic panel (BMP)?

-sodium

-potassium

-chloride

-bicarbonate

-BUN

-creatinine

-glucose

what is leukopenia and its 5 common causes?

-low white blood cells (WBC)

-infection

-bone marrow disorders

-autoimmune disease

-malignancy

-glucocorticoids, chemo, antibiotics

what is leukocytosis and its 6 common causes?

-high white blood cells (WBC)

-infection

-inflammation/stress

-splenectomy

-malignancy, neoplastic disorders

-medication hypersensitivity

-glucocorticoids, myeloid GFs, tretinoin

what are the 4 types of differential for WBCs and their functions?

-neutrophils: bacterial infection, inflammation, smoking

-lymphocytes: viral infection, stress, allergies

-monocytes: bacterial infection, inflammation

-eosinophils+basophils: allergies, parasitic infection, inflammation

what does left shift refer to?

more bands (immature neutrophils) being present than segs (mature neutrophils), suggesting infection

what are granulocytes?

a term that refers to neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils

what are 4 common causes of reduced red blood cells (RBC)?

-iron, folate, or cobalamin deficiency

-bone marrow disorders

-renal disease

-chemotherapy

what are 4 common causes of reduced hemoglobin (Hgb) and hematocrit (Hct)?

-anemia

-blood loss

-hemodilution

-chemotherapy

what is thrombocytopenia and its 5 main causes?

-reduced platelet count

-infection

-immune related disease

-bone marrow disorders

-malignancy

-pregnancy

what is thrombocytosis and its 4 main causes?

-anemia, blood loss

-infection

-splenectomy

-malignancy, myeloproliferative disease

what are 4 examples of coagulation tests?

-prothrombin time (PT) and international normalized ratio (INR)

-activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT)

-anti-factor Xa

-D-dimer, which is used as a rule-out test

what are acute phase reactants and 3 examples?

-change by over 25% with inflammation

-erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)

-c-reactive protein (CRP)

-procalcitonin

what are 5 factors that can lead to an increase in uric acid?

-malignancy, hemolysis

-high dietary purine

-renal disease

-acidosis

-hypothyroidism

what are 3 diseases that increase amylase levels?

-pancreatitis

-GI disease

-salivary disease

what are 2 diseases that increase lipase levels?

-delayed presentation of pancreatitis

-GI disease

what are 3 drug classes that increase amylase and lipase levels?

-GLP1 agonists

-DPP4 inhibitors

-pegasparaginase

what are 5 common factors of urinalysis?

-color

-clarity

-specific gravity

-nitrite (indicator of bacteria)

-leukocyte esterase (indicator of WBCs)

what is the difference between anuria and oliguria?

-anuria: urine output is absent

-oliguria: small volume of urine output

what are 4 crystal types that can appear during urinalysis?

-uric acid

-calcium phosphate/oxalate

-cystine

-struvite

what are 4 abnormal cast types that can appear during urinalysis?

-cellular

-granular

-waxy

-fatty