Chem 7

The Chem 7 is a frequently ordered “panel of tests” that gives your doctor important information about the current status of your kidneys, liver, and electrolyte and acid/base balance as well as of your blood sugar and blood proteins.

“In other words, it checks for what’s in Gatorade,” Ramirez says. “It is looking at sugar, salt and chloride in the blood. It is important because if people have been dehydrated, their sugars get high and salts gets low. That can cause heart arrhythmias and other problems.”

Liver panel – A liver panel, also known as liver (hepatic) function tests or LFT, is used to detect, evaluate and monitor liver disease or damage. It usually consists of seven tests that are run at the same time on a blood sample, including ALT, ALP, AST, bilirubin, albumin, and total protein antibodies.

Cholesterol – Doctors now recommend that all adults, not just those who are at risk for heart disease, over age 20 should have a cholesterol test at least once every five years, Results are obtained through a simple fasting (done on an empty stomach) blood test.

“The cholesterol test gives us a screening of the risk of cardiovascular disease,” Fuselier says. “Often high cholesterol is genetic and is not always diet related. Providers like to start managing abnormal cholesterol results early with exercise, diet and medication before they start developing coronary artery disease or other cardiovascular disease risk factors.”

The best test to assess risk, Fuselier adds, is a full screening lipid panel, which includes total cholesterol, HDL (good) cholesterol
LDL (bad) cholesterol
and triglycerides.

A person should have a baseline established in their 20s and then be evaluated at least every five years. Cardiac risk factors and the patient’s provider determine the frequency of testing.

Cholesterol below 200 milligrams per deciliter indicates low risk of heart disease. Values of 200 to 240 indicate moderate risk and cholesterol of 240 or higher indicates high risk for heart disease. Some physicians believe, however, that even numbers approaching 200 are too high.

If you are at high risk, your doctor may order a lipid profile and other tests to try to determine the cause of your high cholesterol or additional risk factors such as low levels of good cholesterol versus bad and abnormal levels of triglycerides.

Fasting Blood Glucose Level – The fasting blood glucose level test is the number one screening test for diabetes. It is also a standard test used in emergency rooms for any patient who comes in with a medical emergency. Patients should be screened every three years beginning at age 45, or sooner if diabetes risk factors are present, or a health care provider recommends.

The test is used to detect too much sugar in the blood (hyperglycemia), or too little (hypoglycemia). Diabetes is diagnosed if:

the results on two occasions are higher than 126 milligrams per deciliter
or an abnormally high level greater than 200 milligrams per deciliter on one occasion.
Levels between 100 and 126 milligrams per deciliter are called impaired fasting glucose or pre-diabetes and are risk factors for type 2 diabetes and its complications.

For more information go to: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia and Labtestsonline.org, a public resource on clinical lab testing published by the American Association for Clinical Chemistry.

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UPDATED: 9-20-2006

About Elizabeth Fuselier:

Elizabeth Fuselier is a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

About Elda Ramirez:

Elda Ramirez is an associate professor of nursing at the UT School of Nursing and a nurse practitioner.

Health Tip:

Fireworks
Don’t lose your independence
on Independence Day!

They’re beautiful, hypnotic, inspiring and dangerous. Each year, thousands of injuries occur from fireworks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cite

In 2006, 11 dead and an estimated 9,200 treated in emergency departments for fireworks-related injuries in the United States.
An estimated 5 percent of fireworks-related injuries treated in emergency departments required hospitalization.

Most injuries involved:

Hands (2,300 injuries), eyes (1,500 injuries), and the head, face, and ear (1,400 injuries).
Burns were the most common injury type to all body parts except the eyes and head areas, where contusions, lacerations and foreign bodies in the eye occurred more frequently.

Most common fireworks involved:

Firecrackers, associated with the greatest number of estimated injuries at 1,300. There were 1,000 injuries associated with sparklers and 800 associated with bottle rockets.
Sparklers, accounting for one-third of the injuries to children younger than 5.

Between 2000-05, more than one-third of the fireworks-related deaths involved professional devices that were illegally sold to consumers.

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, if you are going to light firecrackers:

Use a specially designed stick, or "punk," rather than a match to light fireworks.
Have a bucket of water ready.
Always follow manufacturers' directions and dispose of used fireworks properly.
Never give a firecracker or sparkler to a child.
Never use a bottle rocket.
Do not light firecrackers bigger than your pinkie, do not light them indoors, and avoid relighting duds.
Never put fireworks in your pocket, throw them while lit, or make homemade firecrackers.
In case of eye injury, do not touch the eye. Tape a clean paper cup over the eye to prevent contamination or further injury. Immediately seek medical attention from an ophthalmologist (eye MD).

What is banned nationwide: Any firecracker with more than 50 milligrams of explosive powder and any aerial firework with more than 130 milligrams of flash powder is banned under federal law, as are mail order kits and components designed to build these fireworks.