Blood parameter monitoring in the intensive care unit
Abstract
Blood tests performed in the emergency and critical care setting are essential to determine the patient’s current clinical status, to enable a diagnosis to be made and to monitor stabilisation and treatment. Thus the veterinary nurse should be proficient in prompt and accurate testing, regular monitoring of the patient in the intensive care unit and early recognition of abnormal results that need to be brought to the immediate attention of the veterinarian. This article highlights commonly screened blood parameters in the emergency setting, giving normal ranges and critical values that necessitate immediate intervention to optimise patient care. Veterinary nurses with a sound knowledge of routinely screened blood parameters will be best placed to contribute to the smooth running of the intensive care unit and to provide excellent nursing care.
Blood tests are commonly performed in the intensive care unit (ICU), providing a considerable amount of information about veterinary patients. In the emergency and critical care (ECC) setting, initial blood tests are routinely carried out as part of the secondary survey to provide essential knowledge of a patient’s current clinical status, facilitating the veterinarian’s decision for further diagnostics and a plan for stabilization and treatment. Following admission, blood tests enable the veterinary nurse to monitor the patient’s progress and tailor treatment accordingly.
The role of the veterinary nurse is not only to run these tests promptly and accurately, but in the busy ICU nurses are often relied on to differentiate between those results that should be brought to the immediate attention of the attending veterinarian and those that can wait until the end of the next consult (Randles, 2005).
This article provides an overview of the most commonly screened parameters in the ECC, and an insight into the abnormal values that may pose a life-threatening risk to the patient if left untreated, which require immediate action by the veterinary nurse.
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