Anemia in Kidney Failure and Dialysis Patients An Insignificant Voice On A Significant Issue

Laboratory Tests and Blood Levels for Dialysis Patients

4 comments

Posted by Julius Santos on May 27, 2009 in Dialysis, Health, Journals, Kidney Failure | 4 comments

Dialysis patients are required to take monthly laboratory tests. This is to ensure proper monitoring of our body’s blood and chemistry levels. These tests are also used by doctors as reference on how patient’s respond to dialysis, if they are eating right, their responsiveness to EPO shots via their hemoglobin levels, and so on. I have been through this routine tests all my dialysis years and still going through with it. My lab test schedule for the month of May would be performed on my next dialysis session, this coming Thursday to be specific. My past blood test, since I started my treatment, were fairly okay. There are certain blood levels that dialysis patients and doctors use as reference and it’s quite different from the ones normal people use.

Let me state this as an example:

A normal person’s hemoglobin range: 12 – 14 grams per deciliter (g/dL)

A dialysis patient’s hemoglobin range: 10 – 12 grams per deciliter (g/dL)

To elaborate this further, I have prepared a list of the common laboratory tests that I take along with their acceptable ranges. The blood levels below are provided for your reference and are to be used as guidelines. Levels may vary upon individual differences or depending on the dialysis unit;s laboratory procedures. It is always advisable to talk to your doctor, nurse, and dietitian about your blood levels.

Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) : 60 – 110 mg/dL

Creatinine : 8.0 – 20.0 mg/dL

Potassium (K) : 3.5 – 5.0 mEq/L

Calcium (Ca) : 8.5 – 10.5 mg/dL

Blood Sugar (fasting) : 60 – 100 mg/dL

Blood Sugar : less than 140 mg/dL

Alkaline Phosphatase : 25 – 100 units/L

Phosphorus (P) : 2.3 – 4.7 mg/dL

Sodium (Na) : 135 – 145 mEq/L

Albumin : 3.8 – 5.5 gm/dL

Total Protein : 6.0 – 8.0 gm/dL

Hematocrit (HCT) : 33% – 36%

Hemoglobin (Hgb) : 10 – 12 gm/dL

Basically, through this monthly lab exams, a dialysis patient, doctor, nurse, and dialysis unit’s medical staff can monitor the patient’s progress while undergoing treatment. For me that has been going through with it for quite a long time now, and for other’s as well, it may sound routinely boring. But I hope this article may serve as reminder on how vital this monthly blood tests are to a dialysis patient.

4 Responses to “Laboratory Tests and Blood Levels for Dialysis Patients”

Jullius says:
July 7, 2009 at 6:07 pm

hi sir,
im a meDtech student,
what will happened to the patient who’s taking dialysis if his lab results where abnormally high or low?

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- julius santos says:
  July 8, 2009 at 9:29 am
  
  It depends on what minerals or test. Like, for example, if you have high levels of creatinine, you tend to always feel sick. If it’s phosphorus you’re having abnormalities with, you’ll get itchy skin. If it’s calcium, you’ll have weaker bones.
  
  In my experience, though every lab tests should always be monitored accordingly, potassium is the one mineral I’m always vigilant about. Having too high or too low results on this mineral would affect your heart, for it regulates your heartbeat.
  
  reply
Jun Jabatan says:
January 4, 2010 at 4:12 pm

Hi Sir,

Just want to ask. I have a friend who is undergoing dialysis. At first, his anti-HCV result was negative. But recently after several dialysis procedure, he received a laboratory result with a positive anti-HCV (result is 2.4 S/CO. cutoff is 1.00). So he was dialysed in a machine for HCV positive patients. Any comment on this?

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Rebecca says:
July 28, 2010 at 1:52 pm

Hi Sir, I will like to know more about the immuno test for dialysis patient. Take for example, a positive HCV patient was tested again with HCV few months later and it showed negative. What does that mean? Is it possible to get such result? But the lab was so sure prviouslt the patient is tested positive for HCV.

Thanks.

Sincere Regards,
Rebecca
p/s: May I get your reply by email? Thanks.

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