What labs values have the opposite effects?

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What labs values have the opposite effects? For example, if potassium goes down is there always going to be an electrolyte the tries to create equilibrium by going up? Are there any patterns that I can remember?

MendedHeart

663 Posts

Calcium and Phosphorus have inverse relationship.

Also been told that Albumin and INR have an inverse relationship however I don't know the physiology behind this except they both involve the Liver.

Dranger

1,871 Posts

Calcium and Phosphorus have inverse relationship.

Also been told that Albumin and INR have an inverse relationship however I don't know the physiology behind this except they both involve the Liver.

Albumin-Essential protein in maintaining oncotic pressure, low in liver failure

INR-Ratio of clotting factors, in liver failure the body doesn't clot as efficiently due to lack of clotting factors created by the liver so INR would be high

Liver failure and sepsis management is one of the biggest balancing acts in medicine.

automotiveRN67

130 Posts

For the OP. Go to youtube. There are plenty of quality videos discussing pathopysiology and labwork.

If you have a specific question. Post it here.

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sirI, MSN, APRN, NP

17 Articles; 44,729 Posts

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chouxpastry

56 Posts

Potassium does not have an opposing electrolyte to my understanding unlike Ca and P (and not necessary a definite inverse relationship either as acute kidney injury or superimposed acute imbalances can create exceptions)...kidney people please correct me if I'm wrong…I'm in GI :p. It's found in abundance within intracellular fluids versus Na+ which is found in much higher concentrations in extracellular fluids. Na-K pumps located on cellular membrane actively maintain this homeostatic electrical neutrality.

IMO, posting medical questions on ANY forum should be taken with a grain of salt! I would hate to be caught quoting CoolDoc123 as my rationale for doing something...

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sirI, MSN, APRN, NP

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Lev, MSN, RN, NP

4 Articles; 2,805 Posts

Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

Potassium and magnesium have a relationship. If your k is low and mg is borderline or low, sometimes it will be hard to replete k.

reddgirl

253 Posts

Calcium and Phosphorus have inverse relationship.

Also been told that Albumin and INR have an inverse relationship however I don't know the physiology behind this except they both involve the Liver.

The inverse of the Albumin and INR could hone in on liver problems ie hepatitis or carcinoma. You could draw a AFP tumor marker as well to help with the differential diagnosis. CEA can go with those labs mentioned too.

reddgirl

253 Posts

So INR and Albumin that's all over the place, think liver damage. Mg, Phos, and Ca go with kidney as well as BUN and Creatinine. Sodium-Postassium think cardiac and so on. I always go to my Patho book to brush up on those things. Hope that helps!

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