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Articles and journal scans about Electrolytes
Journal Scan
Journal Scan
Journal Scan
July 2019
Challenging the dogma that severe hypercalcemia is life threatening
In health, plasma total calcium concentration is maintained within the approximate reference interval: 2.20-2.60 mmol/L (8.8-10.4 mg/dL), so that hypercalcemia (increased blood calcium) is defined as plasma total calcium greater than 2.60 mmol/L (10.4 mg/dL). The two most common causes of hypercalcemia are malignant...
Electrolytes
Journal Scan
June 2019
Blood test results during normal pregnancy and pregnancy-related illness
Pregnancy is associated with significant anatomical and physiological change in order to both accommodate and sustain the developing fetus. As this literature review article written by two Australian obstetricians makes clear, pregnancy-associated physiological change affects the blood concentration of a range of...
Kidneys/fluids
Blood gases/acid-base
Process optimization
Electrolytes
Journal Scan
April 2019
Accurate assessment of calcium status in the critically ill requires measurement of ionized calcium rather than total calcium
Disturbance of blood calcium concentration is a common feature of many critical illnesses; prevalence studies suggest for example that 50-85 % of patients admitted to intensive/critical care have some degree of hypocalcemia (reduced blood calcium concentration). So monitoring and correction of blood calcium, where...
Point-of-care testing
Electrolytes
Journal Scan
March 2019
Increase in blood lipids causes falsely low bicarbonate results
Arterial blood gas (ABG) analysis allows full assessment of patient acid-base status predominantly via the following three parameters generated during the analysis: arterial blood pH; partial pressure of carbon dioxide in arterial blood pCO2(a); and concentration of bicarbonate (HCO3) in arterial blood. Two of these...
Blood gases/acid-base
Electrolytes
Journal Scan
December 2018
An assessment of variability in plasma potassium measurement
Data collected during a multicenter phase-3 clinical trial of a novel drug treatment for hyperkalemia (raised blood potassium) has provided a serendipitous opportunity to examine the variability of plasma potassium measurement. The trial required recruitment of patients with plasma potassium in the hyperkalemic range...
Preanalytical phase
Quality assurance
Electrolytes
Journal Scan
August 2018
Vitamin D toxicity – a very rare cause of increased plasma calcium
In health total plasma calcium concentration is maintained within the approximate reference range of 8.8-10.5 mg/dL (2.20-2.62 mmol/L) so that raised plasma calcium (hypercalcemia) is usually diagnosed if plasma calcium is >10.5 mg/dL (>2.62 mmol/L) and severe, potentially life-threatening hypercalcemia is roughly...
Electrolytes
Journal Scan
July 2018
Understanding the symptoms and clinical significance of reduced plasma/serum sodium (hyponatremia)
Reduced plasma/serum sodium (hyponatremia), widely defined as plasma/serum sodium
Mild hyponatremia, i.e. plasma/serum sodium in the approximate range of 130 to 136 mmol/L, is usually not associated with symptoms, but most patients whose plasma/serum is
Explanation of these effects of hyponatremia is contained in...
Electrolytes
Kidneys/fluids
Journal Scan
March 2018
Ketoacidosis – three unusual and informative case study reports
Blood gas analysis involves determination of three parameters (pH, bicarbonate and partial pressure of carbon dioxide, pCO2) necessary for assessment of patient acid-base status and identification of those whose acid-base is disturbed. There are four classes of acid-base disturbance: metabolic acidosis, metabolic...
Blood gases/acid-base
Electrolytes