Doctors use laboratory tests to help diagnose or treat certain conditions and to check the overall health of their patients. Tests that measure the concentration of blood proteins, electrolytes and enzymes all belong to the broad category of blood chemistry testing. Blood chemistry tests check the health of your liver, kidneys, heart, bones and electrolyte balance. Determining the significance of chemistry laboratory results is done by your doctor based on your overall medical evaluation and on the complex combinations of data that may result from your test.
Instructions
1. Scan your lab report for the names of tests the laboratory performed. Names like glucose to evaluate metabolism, calcium to check the health of your bones, sodium, potassium and chloride to evaluate your state of hydration among other things, blood urea nitrogen and creatinine to test your kidney clearance and bilirubin to evaluate your liver health are examples of names that may show up in your chemistry lab report.
2. Look at each chemistry test name and the value next to it. The laboratory measures the levels or concentrations of each element and reports that number.
3. Compare the value for each chemistry test against the range provided in the lab report.
The laboratory establishes a normal range for each test; results above the normal range are high, and these below the normal range are considered low. Generally, there is an "H" for high and "L" for low next to the value.
4. Check with your doctor for the significance of the abnormal results in your report. Notify your doctor of any factors that may have affected the results. A fasting specimen is important for the accuracy of tests like glucose and triglyceride. Determining the cause of abnormal lab findings requires expert interpretation, and typically requires further testing.
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