Hematocrit question for my care plan

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Hey guys -- I am writing up a care plan for my 2nd week of clinicals...part of my care plan involves interpreting lab data values...

On my pt -- her hemoglobin is within normal limits, but her hematocrit is low. Pt does not have hx of anemia, but was admitted for HTN, also has MS and cellultis..

can anyone help me understand the clinical significance of her low hematocrit?

Thank you!!!

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

I think you may find these sites helpful.

Lab Test Interpretation

Blood cells and the CBC

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i'd like to recommend a great book for any student or nurse who needs to know about lab tests. it's joyce lefever kee's classic laboratory and diagnostic tests with nursing implications, available at your online bookseller. no financial interest in this book or its author, just a very satisfied customer and i used to assign it to my students. that "nursing implications" thing is the key here.

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Thank you for those site suggestions, they are very helpful!

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

Your welcome. :)

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Specializes in Progressive, Intermediate Care, and Stepdown.

Hematocrit definition: The ratio of red blood cells to the total volume of blood. You could think of blood as a liquid with a lot of "stuff" in it. Or, RBC/total blood volume. Hence, hematocrit is expressed as percentage. Therefore, if there a change in the number of RBCs or in the volume of blood, hematocrit % will change up or down. Now, since Hgb is normal, the decreased hematocrit could be related to an increase in blood volume. Does your patient have an IV going? Does your patient drink a large amount of fluid orally? Or, both? Does your patient retain fluids in some way? Maybe your patient has little urinary output contributing to the increase in total blood voluem. You can think hematocrit as a reflection of fluid status of your patient. For instance, dehydration will increase the hematocrit. Why? The total blood volume has decreased therefore the RBC number has increased in relation to the dehydrated patient's current blood volume.

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