🧪
Normal Lab Values + Panic Levels
The values you're expected to know cold, with the panic thresholds and the first nursing action for each.
Free · print it · share it · no gatekeeping
Electrolytes
- Sodium
- 135–145 · panic <120 or >160 · correct slowly — osmotic demyelination
- Potassium
- 3.5–5.0 · panic <2.5 or >6.5 · peaked T waves → calcium, insulin+D50, albuterol
- Calcium (total)
- 8.5–10.5 · ionized 1.1–1.3 · watch after massive transfusion
- Magnesium
- 1.5–2.5 · low mag makes potassium unfixable
- Phosphate
- 2.5–4.5 · low = failure to wean from the vent
Renal & metabolic
- BUN
- 7–20 mg/dL
- Creatinine
- 0.6–1.2 mg/dL · trend matters more than the value
- Glucose
- 70–110 fasting · treat <70 with 15 g carbs, recheck in 15 min
- Lactate
- <2 mmol/L · >4 = tissue hypoperfusion, act now
Hematology & coags
- Hgb
- 12–16 (F) / 14–18 (M) · transfuse per protocol + symptoms
- Platelets
- 150–400 K · <50 K = bleeding risk for procedures
- WBC
- 5–10 K · left shift = bands rising
- INR
- 0.8–1.1 · therapeutic 2–3 on warfarin
- aPTT
- 25–35 s · 1.5–2.5× baseline on heparin
ABGs
- pH
- 7.35–7.45
- PaCO2
- 35–45 mmHg · respiratory driver
- HCO3
- 22–26 mEq/L · metabolic driver
- PaO2
- 80–100 mmHg
- Read it
- ROME: Respiratory Opposite, Metabolic Equal
Baddie pearls 👑
- ✦A single value is a rumor. A trend is a story. Chart the trend.
- ✦Critical value = closed-loop read-back to the provider AND documentation of the time.
- ✦Ranges vary by lab — always use your facility's reference range for real decisions.
Educational reference only. Always follow your facility's current policies, protocols, and provider orders.
Want the whole toolkit?
Question banks, adaptive master exams, EKG practice, the Crash Cart Simulator and your AI specialty mentor live inside the app.
See membership