what does 4+, 3+, 2+, and 1+ mean?

smstar1996 · Dec 12, 2008

When a specimen has been collected and sent for
culture, what do the results mean when the report says:
RBCs 4+, polymorphonuclear WBCs 3+, 1+ Gram + cocci,
and 2+ staph aureus? (the 4+, 3+, 2+, 1+)
I don't have the requisition or report to look at.

lol I have no idea. Based on the title of your question, I was gonne answer "pitting edema." But after reading your full question.............I have no clue.

study2Bnurse · Dec 12, 2008

i thought it was regarding edema, too! don't know what that might mean regarding blood. hmmmm.....mystery!

:heartbeat:d:heartbeat:d:heartbeat

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Dec 12, 2008

You need to call the lab that reported those results and ask them what the scale means.

ccstudent · Dec 12, 2008

Hi,

Daytonite is right call the lab, but here is my wild guess ( something you can never do as a nurse)

gram positive or negative bacteria found in the blood and the degree in which it was present.

Well I told you it was a wild guess, I should have said vague too.

I am in a weird mood, I apologize.

One more day of nursing school...and then its of to find a job that is not out there for me......even though the local paper says they are bring 2000 nurses here from overseas.

Hence I babble.

Good luck and let us know!!

cokeforbreakfast · Dec 12, 2008

I agree, CALL THE LAB...they'll be more than willing to talk to you!

You likely have a lot of RBC's and WBC's, and there is a little gram positive cocci and slightly more staph aureus. (IMHO labs don't usually report on anything that is not present.)

So...you may have a bacterial infection with immune response.

BaberK · Dec 13, 2008

Hey Amy, In regards to the 4+ and 3+, etc... that is referrring to an amount. For example if your reading a urinalysis report and it says 4+ RBCs, that means that there is probably>49 RBCs per HPF. and of course 1+ would be the least amount...does that make sense? Sorry if I further confused you...I work in a lab.

Amy2005 · Dec 14, 2008

thanks, it's a start.

For more complete understanding of the 3+, 2+ and 1+ - is there a link?

AtomicWoman · Dec 14, 2008

Hah, hah! I thought this was a chemistry question and those were cations. :)

cokeforbreakfast · Dec 15, 2008

Hi. Every lab has their own way of reporting things out. Like BaberK said, at her lab 4+ would "49 RBCs per HPF".

The lab where I worked just used "Rare", "Small", "Medium", "Large" and "Packed"; there was a little number chart on the wall and you just counted the RBC's then looked on the chart to find which category the count fell into and that's what you reported.

Also, the counts for some things are per LPF, and some are per HPF (low and high power fields). The house physicians just know what the facility lab policies are and interpret the results accordingly. Not having that information would make it difficult for an outsider to interpret results accurately.

As such, it is ALWAYS the best policy to call the lab. In my experience, they'll be more than happy to talk to you, even if you're just a student at clinicals.

(And it IS kind of like edema, if you think of 1+ is being a little edema (or few RBC's) and 4+ being a lot of edema (or a lot of RBC's). Be aware that most facilities also have standards in place for reporting edema...the pitting has to be so many cm deep to be considered 1+, etc., and that this differs from facility to facility. The main thing is, know facility policy inside and ask when you aren't sure.)

Hope this helps a little!

shrimpchips, LPN · Dec 15, 2008

lol I have no idea. Based on the title of your question, I was gonne answer "pitting edema." But after reading your full question.............I have no clue.

:chuckle I was going to say the same thing!