Help with Lab reference sheet-taking med surgical nursing

Nurses General Nursing

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What does total protein measure and why is it a important lab test?

What the c-reactive test and what does it measure and also the bnp test?

I am confuse regarding the difference between specific gravity test and serum osmolality test?

If creatinine and bun are high does that mean the person is dehydrate?

what is the purpose of the albumin test?

Specializes in ICU, Telemetry.

First: Get a book on diagnostic testing, like Saunder's Nursing Guide to Laboratory and Diagnostic Tests. You will be in that book all the time, once you're out of school. I'll help with one, but you need that reference manual in your hands.

BNP -- if it's high, the person's in CHF; the heart's releasing this hormone if it's being stretched. If I see a BNP significantly higher than the lab "high" value of 100 (and this can change depending on which lab you use), I put them on a 1 liter fluid restriction. I've had pt's come in with BNPs over 1000 (10x the high) and they can't even turn over in bed without panting. You can also see it in people with an acute MI and kidney failure. Usually, if I see a sky high BNP, they'll end up on a Natrecor drip.

Specializes in CVICU, Burns, Trauma, BMT, Infection control.

Hmm don't you have resources to look that up? The same ones I would use to answer it maybe?

I'm sure others will have different resources but I use medscape or emedicine.

Good luck!

http://www.medscape.com/nurses

http://www.emedicine.com/

Specializes in Acute Care.

Most nursing schools require a laboratory/diagnostic book.

Also, Google has answers to a lot of your questions.

http://www.amazon.com/Manual-Laboratory-Diagnostic-Tests/dp/0781771943/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219873777&sr=8-1

a good online resource-

http://www.labtestsonline.org

leslie

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