What Does My Blood Test Report Indicate?

Posted on Mon, 5 Oct 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 5 Oct 2015 Answered on

Mon, 26 Oct 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : I would like a Dr. to look over some blood work for my mother in law. It won't allow me to attach the files like I did last time?

Figured out how to upload the reports. So hopefully that makes it much easier to answer my question! The main concern is her kidneys. The Dr. has reported she has moderate kidney problems. And this is the follow up blood work. I am also wondering if this is appropriate follow up blood work. I can upload the old blood work report from last week if need be. Thanks again.

Sorry I wanted to add that her creatinine level was 2.5 a week ago and yesterday it was a 1.5? I will add that report, I will title it blood work 3 - blood work 1 and 2 are from yesterday and blood work 3 and 4 are from a week ago. Sorry to be so disorganized. Just want to give you

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (13 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
there are some abnormal results

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

let me start from the easy ones. Her lipid profile needs some kind of intervention. She's got a lot of triglycerides (417). She has to address this issue with her doctor. Drinking alcohol, eating sweets and being overweight may contribute to high triglyceride levels.

Her serum creatinine is too high, probably indicating renal damage. There is a chance that this is a transient elevation if she's acutely dehydrated. With proper rehydration the creatinine levels may get back to normal without permanent damage. I doubt this is the case with her but the point is that clinical details are important for the interpretation of any test result.

So if she's not acutely ill, then an investigation from a nephrologist would be required because this result probably indicates chronic kidney disease. An ultrasound scan of the kidneys may provide helpful clues. Diabetes is a common cause of renal damage. Drugs and various inflammatory conditions (like glomerulonephritides) are other potential causes.

I hope you find my comments helpful!
You can contact me again, if you'd like any clarification or further information.

Kind Regards!

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (7 minutes later)

Thank you for your answer. We understand about the cholesterol. But last week the Dr. was saying she had moderate kidney damage and now this week the creatinine level dropped significantly. Is this normal for the creatinine to go up to 2.5 and then down to 1.5 so easily? We are confused because last week we thought we had very bad news and this week it is much better news. She has diabetes and has been not followed a good diet so we understand that is probably the root cause of the kidney damage, however it is confusing to go from being told she has Stage 3 kidney failure to Stage 1. Thank you.

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (9 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
could be dehydration

Detailed Answer:
You're welcome!

The urea/creatinine ratio (40) indicates some degree of dehydration. This could explain the rapid drop of creatinine to 1.5. Her glomerular functionality as estimated by the eGFR may be anywhere between 33mL/min to 66mL/min depending on her body weight. 33 corresponds to 50Kgr, 66 to 100Kgr. So she could be still in trouble. In any case 1.5 is not normal and it probably indicates chronic renal disease.

The clinical context of the measurement is of outmost importance. Her doctor is the best person to evaluate the results with the knowledge of her medical history and current situation.

If you'd like to provide more clinical details, I'll be glad to comment on them.

Kind Regards!

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (2 minutes later)

Thank you!