Question about neutropenic lab values

[Keren_fa]

Hi all,

This is my first post on allnurses.com, so please me gentle :)

I am a 2nd semester nursing student at a major hospital in Los Angeles. We are just starting our med-surge rotation on a hem-onc floor.

Prepping to care for a 44 yo female with AML who finished a round of chemo and is on neutropenic precautions.

WBC were 1.3-2.7, then suddenly dropped to: "@LP 0.5" after a week of chemo, and have been "LP

What does LP mean? I've never seen this on a lab value before, and none of my classmates seem to know either. Platelets have also dropped to an "LP" level of low, guessing it means something extremely low?

[tokebi]

Could it be "low panic?"

I really don't know. I just seem to remember critical lab values called as "panic" values somewhere in the past. So I just thought maybe your place has labels such as "low panic," or "high panic."

Simple solution: pick up the phone and call the lab. They'll be happy (or grumpy but who cares) to enlighten the masses.

[Keren_fa]

Ha! Thanks, I will.

You are probably right. I know the lab did call with a "critical low value message" when the blood count first hit that level. Wasn't sure if this was a universal type of term or a facility standard.

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

maybe low parameter...but definitely low...I will use that sometimes for low platelets but usually write low Plts

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

It's probably the flag the lab at your specific hospital uses. Every hospital uses something different. When I worked in the hospital, low values were flagged with (L) and high values (H). If they were critical, they were marked © and appeared in red font on the computer. If they lab made a comment it was flagged (f) for footnote. Where I have my labs drawn, out of range values are marked with an asterik and are red. You can always call the lab and ask or ask the nurses on the floor... they know what those codes mean.

WBCs will probably continue to drop since the nadir happens 7-10 after the last chemo.