Lab values & electrolytes worksheet with answers

Free printable Lab values & electrolytes worksheet: 8 problems from easy to exam level, with an answer key. Print it or save it as a PDF.

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Name: ____________________   Date: ____________

1.Easy

At what time of day is serum cortisol normally highest?

  1. AAfter the evening meal
  2. BAround midnight
  3. CEarly morning
  4. DLate afternoon
2.Easy

What does a raised D-dimer level show?

  1. AThe patient is taking too much warfarin
  2. BThe platelet count is too low to stop bleeding
  3. CFibrin clots are being formed and broken down in the body
  4. DThe liver is no longer able to make clotting factors
3.Easy

Which type of white blood cell is normally the most numerous in an adult's blood?

  1. ANeutrophils
  2. BMonocytes
  3. CLymphocytes
  4. DEosinophils
4.Medium

On the first day after major surgery, a patient's white cell count is 12.5 × 10³/µL, with no fever or wound signs. What is the best interpretation?

  1. AA common stress response to surgery that is monitored
  2. BA sign of leukemia that needs bone marrow testing
  3. CDefinite wound infection that needs antibiotics now
  4. DA laboratory error, since surgery lowers white cells
5.Medium

When should a patient with chronic kidney disease take a phosphate binder such as calcium acetate or sevelamer?

  1. AWith meals
  2. BAt bedtime on an empty stomach
  3. COnly once a week
  4. DOnly when the patient feels unwell
6.Medium

A patient is scheduled for a liver biopsy. Which laboratory results should the nurse check before the procedure?

  1. ASerum sodium and chloride
  2. BHbA1c and lipid panel
  3. CTSH and free T4
  4. DPlatelet count and PT/INR
7.Hard

A patient with jaundice and nausea has a positive IgM antibody to hepatitis A virus (IgM anti-HAV). What does this show?

  1. APast hepatitis B infection that has cleared
  2. BA current or recent hepatitis A infection
  3. CImmunity from hepatitis A vaccine long ago
  4. DChronic hepatitis A lasting many years
8.Hard

Four laboratory results arrive. Which one should the nurse act on first?

  1. AGlucose 140 mg/dL (7.8 mmol/L) after a meal in a patient with diabetes
  2. BPotassium 6.6 mEq/L in a patient with CKD who has new muscle weakness
  3. CHemoglobin 11.8 g/dL (118 g/L) in a patient with chronic kidney disease
  4. DSodium 137 mEq/L in a patient admitted with pneumonia yesterday

Answer key

  1. 1. C · Early morning
  2. 2. C · Fibrin clots are being formed and broken down in the body
  3. 3. A · Neutrophils
  4. 4. A · A common stress response to surgery that is monitored
  5. 5. A · With meals
  6. 6. D · Platelet count and PT/INR
  7. 7. B · A current or recent hepatitis A infection
  8. 8. B · Potassium 6.6 mEq/L in a patient with CKD who has new muscle weakness

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