How does edema affect lab values

What happens? This most commonly occurs when kidneys are not functioning properly as in renal disease or decreased renal blood flow. No electrolyte test will indicate this condition. The hematocrit value may be used to indicate extracellular fluid excess and will be somewhat low. Hematocrit HCT : Measures a volume percentage of red blood cells in the plasma.

Find the new percentage of red blood cells at the increased volume. Cell volume is regulated by changes in the amount of total body water. All fluids taken into and excreted from the body pass through extracellular compartment. Osmosis and filtration distribute this in all compartments. See Question above. Intracellular fluid excess is caused primarily by excessive water intake or an increase in vasopressin hormone.

Interestingly, most cases occur in the hospital following trauma, surgery, or anesthesia. These conditions stimulate the release of vasopressin which in turn decreases urine volume and increases retention of water.

Forced fluids without salt could aggravate the situation. Serum sodium electrolyte values are the best indicators of ICF excess or deficit even though sodium is found and measured in the ECF compartment. For a condition with excess water the value is less than normal for much the same reason as the hematocrit values.

Elmhurst College. Your body may also have a hard time getting rid of fluids. As a result, excess fluid builds up in the body. This is called fluid overload volume overload. This can lead to edema excess fluid in the skin and tissues. Medicines can also affect fluid balance.

The most common are water pills diuretics to treat blood pressure, heart failure, liver disease, or kidney disease. Call your health care provider if you or your child has signs of dehydration or swelling, in order to prevent more serious complications. Water imbalance; Fluid imbalance - dehydration; Fluid buildup; Fluid overload; Volume overload; Loss of fluids; Edema - fluid imbalance; Hyponatremia - fluid imbalance; Hypernatremia - fluid imbalance; Hypokalemia - fluid imbalance; Hyperkalemia - fluid imbalance.

Berl T, Sands JM. Disorders of water metabolism. Comprehensive Clinical Nephrology. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; chap 8. J Blood Med. Chronic lower limb oedema. Clin Med. Comparison of obstructive sleep apnea patients with and without leg edema. Sleep Med. Villeco JP. Edema: a silent but important factor.

J Hand Ther. ABC of arterial and venous disease. Swollen lower limb general assessment and deep vein thrombosis [published correction appears in BMJ. Limitations of d -dimer testing in unselected inpatients with suspected venous thromboembolism. Symptomatic lower extremity deep venous thrombosis: accuracy, limitations, and role of color duplex flow imaging in diagnosis [published correction appears in Radiology. Noninvasive diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis.

Ann Intern Med. Evaluating edema of the hands. J Musculoskel Med. Magnetic resonance venography in the diagnosis and management of May-Thurner syndrome. Vasc Endovascular Surg. American College of Radiology. ACR Appropriateness Criteria: suspected lower extremity deep vein thrombosis.

Accessed January 30, Vascular dilatation in the pelvis: identification with CT and MR imaging. Iliac vein compression syndrome: an underdiagnosed cause of lower extremity deep venous thrombosis.

J Hosp Med. Lymphedema: a primer on the identification and management of a chronic condition in oncologic treatment. CA Cancer J Clin. Lower extremity edema and pulmonary hypertension in morbidly obese patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Sleep Breath. Bilateral leg edema, pulmonary hypertension, and obstructive sleep apnea: a cross-sectional study. J Fam Pract. A systematic review of pneumatic compression for treatment of chronic venous insufficiency and venous ulcers. J Vasc Surg. A sociodemographic, clinical study of patients with venous ulcer. Int J Dermatol. Association between symptoms of chronic venous disease in the lower extremities and cardiovascular risk factors in middle-aged women.

Int Angiol. Intermittent pneumatic compression for treating venous leg ulcers. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. Pittler MH, Ernst E. Horse chestnut seed extract for chronic venous insufficiency. Comparison of leg compression stocking and oral horse-chestnut seed extract therapy in patients with chronic venous insufficiency. Chronic venous insufficiency. Atopic dermatitis. Intensive decongestive treatment restores ability to work in patients with advanced forms of primary and secondary lower extremity lymphoedema.

Physical therapies for reducing and controlling lymphoedema of the limbs. Direct evidence of lymphatic function improvement after advanced pneumatic compression device treatment of lymphedema. Biomed Opt Express. Home-based lymphedema treatment in patients with cancer-related lymphedema or noncancer-related lymphedema. Oncol Nurs Forum. Non-pharmaceutical measures for prevention of post-thrombotic syndrome. Kahn SR. Post-thrombotic syndrome after deep venous thrombosis: risk factors, prevention, and therapeutic options.

Clin Adv Hematol Oncol. Prandoni P, Kahn SR. Post-thrombotic syndrome: prevalence, prognostication and need for progress. Br J Haematol. Long-term outcome after additional catheter-directed thrombolysis versus standard treatment for acute iliofemoral deep vein thrombosis the CaVenT study : a randomised controlled trial.

Effect of renin-angiotensin system blockade on calcium channel blocker-associated peripheral edema. Peripheral edema associated with calcium channel blockers: incidence and withdrawal rate—a meta-analysis of randomized trials.

J Hypertens. Birklein F. Complex regional pain syndrome. J Neurol. Effect of nasal continuous positive airway pressure on edema in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. This content is owned by the AAFP. A person viewing it online may make one printout of the material and may use that printout only for his or her personal, non-commercial reference.

This material may not otherwise be downloaded, copied, printed, stored, transmitted or reproduced in any medium, whether now known or later invented, except as authorized in writing by the AAFP.

Contact afpserv aafp. Want to use this article elsewhere? Get Permissions. Read the Issue. Sign Up Now. Jul 15, Issue. Edema: Diagnosis and Management. Author disclosure: No relevant financial affiliations. C 22 , 23 Echocardiography should be performed in patients with obesity, obstructive sleep apnea, and edema to evaluate pulmonary arterial pressures. C 27 , 28 Ankle-brachial index should be measured in patients with chronic venous insufficiency and cardiovascular risk factors before initiation of compression therapy, which is contraindicated in peripheral arterial disease.

C 30 , 31 Daily hydration with emollients and short courses of topical steroid creams for severely inflamed skin should be used to treat eczematous stasis dermatitis associated with chronic venous insufficiency. C 36 Pneumatic compression devices should be used in conjunction with standard therapy in patients with lymphedema.

C 11 , 39 , 40 Compression stockings should be used in patients following deep venous thrombosis to prevent postthrombotic syndrome. Enlarge Print Table 1. Table 1. Enlarge Print Table 2. Table 2. Algorithm for the diagnosis of bilateral lower extremity edema or anasarca. Enlarge Print Table 3. Medications Commonly Associated with Edema Class Specific medications Antidepressants Monoamine oxidase inhibitors, trazodone Antihypertensives Beta-adrenergic blockers, calcium channel blockers, clonidine Catapres , hydralazine, methyldopa, minoxidil Antivirals Acyclovir Zovirax Chemotherapeutics Cyclophosphamide, cyclosporine Sandimmune , cytosine arabinoside, mithramycin Cytokines Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, interferon alfa, interleukin-2, interleukin-4 Hormones Androgen, corticosteroids, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone Nonsteroidal anti- inflammatory drugs Celecoxib Celebrex , ibuprofen Information from references 1 through 5.

Table 3. Enlarge Print Figure 3. Figure 3. Enlarge Print Figure 4. Acute deep venous thrombosis with overlying cellulitis. Figure 4. Enlarge Print eFigure A. Enlarge Print Figure 5. Figure 5. Enlarge Print eFigure B. Enlarge Print eFigure C. Long-standing lymphedema with thickened, verrucous skin.

Enlarge Print eFigure D. Read the full article.