What is the lowest HGB you have seen?

[I<3H2O]

What is the lowest HGB you have seen on a pt. that is still alert, talking, upright, who exhibits no active bleeding?

LOL we had a little old lady present to the ER with "weakness" and her HGB was 3.2! I've not seen one that low before.

[BrookeeLou_RN]

Me: 4.2, 9 months pregnant and taking care of 2 toddlers to boot. Got 2 units of blood after c-section. She is now 26 so I lived.

[kaliRN]

3.1: Aplastic anemia. Transferred to ICU despite needing nothing more than a couple of units, A&Ox4 - walkie/talkie.

[cardiacmadeline, RN]

2.4-patient totally asymptomatic

[nursej22, MSN, RN]

2.5, came in feeling weak. To paraphrase Bill Murray, she wasn't white, she was transparent.

70 something, had never had a pelvic exam. After transfusion they took her to surgery, closed right after opening. Tumor, presumed gynecological completely covered her bladder. Died within a week.

[ckh23, BSN, RN]

2.4 a jehova witness that was a post partum hemmorage. Family refused blood to the very end until she died.

[I<3H2O, BSN, RN]

1 - in a two month old! Like nothing i've ever seen before, docs did an art stick on him and his blood came out like kool aid. Lab was calling us saying there was something wrong with the sample but it was the baby! Poor thing was trying to correct his body so badly too, his pH was 6.8 and he had a CO2 of 10! Was gasping and retracting like crazy even intubated, eventually had to heavily sedate him to take over his breathing and correct his acidosis, he got more blood products than i've ever seen go into a baby at one time to. And he lived!

OMG, what was causing this? Do you know?

[Da_Milk_of_Amnesia, MSN]

We had a 2.x one time i forget the exact number but I was absolutely floored when she was with it and talking, and lived.

[Despareux]

ME! 3.9, at four months pregnant. Never made it past 7.0 during entire pregnancy. Fainted, dizzy, and tired all the time. Gave birth, two weeks later = normal. Baby was born healthy.

In a patient: Not walking, but tired and quite chipper when awake; level was 3.2, received blood product, survived

[dizzyray822]

3.4 in a 12 yr old sickle pt. Was AAOx 3, but very weak. They transfused like 4 units.

[noahsmama]

2.3 but not asymptomatic -- child brought in by parents for bloody stools and weakness. Parents refused blood on religious grounds. CPS was called and court order obtained -- blood products given. Child survived.

[umcRN, BSN, RN]

OMG, what was causing this? Do you know?

I believe they found that he already had an underlying heme disorder (he had his newborn metabolic screen done 4 times because there was something "wrong" with the samples - should have been the first clue). Then he got an infection that totally threw him over the edge, when he came into us he was very critical, docs didn't think he would survive, his MRI before going home showed only a very small stroke too because we initially thought if he survived his brain would be devastated. Although you can never know the true extent of brain damage for a few years, he looked pretty good when he left

The craziest thing too, his parents said they thought he "looked a little pale" but weren't concerned...this kid was BEYOND a little pale, he was plaster white/gray, like all his blood had been drained out of him, which at that point I guess was pretty accurate haha

[LouisVRN, RN]

4.X on a 70 year old pt admitted to a med/surg floor for GI bleed. Totally A&Ox4. I asked the charge nurse several times if she was sure he should not be monitored. Of course he came to our floor despite my concerns. Managed to get 3/4 units ordered and then went to Tele at 0735.