Hormones 2016

Albumin
What abnormal results mean
Greater than normal urine sodium levels may be caused by too much salt in
the diet or certain medications.
Low levels
Lower than normal urine sodium levels may indicate -
• Aldosteronism,
• Congestive heart failure,
• Diarrhoea and fluid loss,
• Kidney failure (ucsfhealth, 2009d).
Low is hyponatraemia: from sodium loss (diarrhoea and vomiting,
thiazide diuretics, excessive sweating, kidney disease or Addison’s), from
excess fluids (drinking too much water, heart failure, cirrhosis, nephrotic
syndrome). Sometimes your body makes too much ADH, leading to extra
water and thus low sodium (medrevise, 2010).
High levels
High is hypernatraemia: almost always due to dehydration. Rarely, due to
increased salt intake, Cushing’s syndrome, or diabetes insipidus (medrevise,
2010).
Special considerations Too little or too much sodium in the diet may
affect test results (ucsfhealth, 2009d).
Urea
normal 2.5 - 7.9 mmol/L - goes high for the same reasons as creatinine
(medrevise, 2010).
Albumin
Low implies liver disease, or kidney problems, inflammation, shock. High
usually implies dehydration (medrevise, 2010).
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Version 2016.3576– – Document LATEXed – 1st May 2016
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