Lab results - looking for opinions [PLEASE READ 1ST POST]

Get a CRP test done. Even if it doesn't come back elevated, there's still a chance you're dealing with some kind of bacterial infection...

Woman, 43 years old, diagnosis: bilateral pulmonary embolism (I.26.9).

I'm looking for some clarity on a few details from my discharge summary. Regarding the lab results, I'll list out only the specific items that fell outside the standard reference ranges:

Lab results
The partial pressure of oxygen (pO2) was recorded at 11.0–14.4 kPa, and my own levels were right there in that range. 15.3 Well, seven days have passed since then. 8.4
(aK) pO2 (T) (ref. interval 11.0-14.4 kPa) 15.2
(aK) BEecf (ref. interval -2 to 3 mmol/L) -3.1
(aK) BE (B) (reference interval -2 to 2 mmol/L) -2.4
My SpO2 levels were sitting right at that 95-98% reference interval. 99 Well, seven days have passed since then. 92
Total cholesterol levels—keeping them under 5.0 mmol/L is generally what the doctors recommend here in the States. 5.1
Serum triglycerides (aiming for less than 1.7 mmol/L per standard guidelines). 2.4
(S) HDL cholesterol (recommended > 45 mg/dL) 1.1
Serum urate (reference interval 134-337 µmol/L) 339
Total protein levels (reference interval 66 to 81 g/L) 63
(S) albumin (reference interval 39.5 to 58.6 g/L) 39
(S) hs Troponin I (reference value L) 46,6
MCV (reference interval 83.0-97.2 fL) 82,6
Platelets (PLT) (ref. interval 158-424 10e9/L) 442

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Echocardiogram results:
Standard Values | Measured Values | Description
The aortic root measures 2.80 cm, which falls within the standard range of 2.0–3.7 cm. The PPG is 7.6 mmHg.
Aortic valve leaflet separation: 1.5–2.6 cm, currently measuring at 1.70 cm.
Left atrium: 1.9–4.0 cm | Current measurement: 3.60 cm
LEFT VENTRICLE
Diastole: 3.5–5.7 cm | Actual measurement: 4.30 cm
Systole: Reference range 2.5–4.1 cm | Actual measurement: 3.00 cm
Septum: 0.7–1.2 cm | Measured at 0.80 cm
Poster: Posterior wall thickness: 0.7–1.2 cm; current measurement: 0.80 cm.

RIGHT VENTRICLE
Diastolic: 0.7-2.6 cm 2.70 cm
The anterior wall measures up to 0.4 cm.
The EF LV (Teichholz; Simpson) came back at 60%, which falls right within the standard 50-75% range.

LV diastolic function: First-degree dysfunction.
Wall contractility: normal.
Tricuspid valve: TR1+, PAPs 35 mmHg
Pulmonary valve: PR1+, AcT 91-100 ms
Pericardium: normal
Other observations: The MRI was an absolute disaster.

Here’s my take on these results: The left ventricle looks normal in terms of size and wall thickness, with no signs of regional contractility issues. Systolic function is perfectly fine, with an EF of 60%, though there is some diastolic dysfunction present—specifically an incomplete relaxation pattern, indicated by an E/A ratio of 0.77.
The left atrium appears to be within normal dimensions, while the right ventricle is sitting right on the borderline.
The tricuspid aortic valve shows normal leaflet separation and a normal transvalvular gradient.
Minimal mitral regurgitation, tricuspid regurgitation at 1+, pulmonary artery systolic pressure around 35 mmHg, and pulmonary artery systolic pressure.
The pericardium appears normal. There are no visible intracavitary masses.
EKG results: Sinus rhythm at 93 bpm with moderate electrical axis deviation and ST-T wave changes.
--------------------------------------------
Holter monitor.During the monitoring period, which spanned exactly 20 hours and 11 minutes, a total of 107,206 heartbeats were recorded. The baseline rhythm was sinus rhythm, with an average heart rate of 89 beats per minute (ranging from a minimum of 66 bpm to a maximum of 126 bpm). There was no ectopic activity noted, specifically showing zero supraventricular ectopic beats (SES) and zero ventricular ectopic beats (VES). Furthermore, there were no disturbances in AV conduction or any significant RR pauses detected. The ST segment dynamics and T waves remained normal throughout.

I also had a venous color Doppler performed, which came back normal—no signs of DVT. My chest X-ray showed everything was fine, including the heart and aorta, and the abdominal ultrasound was clear as well. However, the CT scan confirmed bilateral pulmonary embolisms.

I’m honestly at a loss regarding what this specific dysfunction means, nor can I make sense of that MR trace showing up on the cardiac ultrasound. (In my mind, everything seems to be holding steady, but I went ahead and asked for further clarification on the points that still feel fuzzy to me.) Additionally, I'm trying to gauge just how much weight these various deviations in the blood work should actually carry.

Thanks.

I can't speak for everything else, but regarding your (S) cholesterol (<5.0 recommended mg/dL), 5.1 isn't something you need to lose sleep over. Just toss a few more green veggies onto your plate and call it a day.

Sandra Brooks91 said:I can't speak to everything else, but regarding your cholesterol levels—if you're looking at a target under 5.0 mmol/L—a reading of 5.1 isn't something you need to lose sleep over. Just toss a bit more leafy green vegetables into your diet and you'll be fine.

Unfortunately, because I'm on anticoagulant therapy, I actually have to limit my intake of anything high in Vitamin K, which mainly means cutting back on those green leafy vegetables.

Carol Mitchell68 said:Woman, 43 years old. Diagnosis: bilateral pulmonary embolism (I.26.9).

Nothing major to report regarding these results. Most of everything is just hovering right on the edge of the normal range.
The troponin levels are up because during a pulmonary embolism—you know, when that artery coming out of the right ventricle gets blocked—the heart is under massive stress. It’s basically struggling way harder than usual to pump blood through. Usually, you see elevated troponin with a heart attack, but in this case, I guess it’s just part of the whole pulmonary embolism picture.

Grade 1 dysfunction just means your ejection fraction—that EF value you mentioned being at 60%—is slightly on the lower side. Basically, ejection fraction is just the percentage of blood that your left ventricle pumps out into the aorta with every single beat. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure why they gave you that specific diagnosis, though, since most doctors consider an EF between 55% and 70% to be perfectly normal.

So, an MRI showing minimal mitral regurgitation basically means there's a tiny bit of backflow. Think of the mitral valve as the gatekeeper between the two chambers of your left heart—it opens and closes to keep everything pumping in the right direction. Regurgitation just means that gate isn't sealing perfectly, letting a little blood leak backward. Honestly, though? Finding out you have minimal mitral regurgitation is pretty much a non-issue. A huge percentage of totally healthy people have this exact same thing on their scans. It’s really nothing to lose sleep over, I guess.

Honestly, you shouldn't sweat these results too much. What really matters is that you're on the right anticoagulant therapy. If you're taking Warfarin, just make sure you're getting regular blood work done so your doctor can keep a close eye on your INR levels.

Peter Ramirez2 said:Good evening, I was hoping someone could give me some advice. My dad (65+) mentioned yesterday that he had this pain on the left side of his back, moving toward his heart, specifically when he takes a deep breath. He thinks it might be because he used an electric massager on that spot for the first time the day before. Honestly, I’m a total worrier, so I immediately jumped to conclusions about his heart or maybe a pre-infarction state. His blood pressure and heart rate were totally normal, though. He doesn't usually have issues with blood pressure, but his blood sugar and triglycerides are high, so he's supposed to watch what he eats (he says he does, but we all know how that goes). Today he says the pain is gone, but now he has swollen lymph nodes on the right side of his neck (which I assume isn't anything else).

So, I'm planning to send him for some blood work tomorrow just to start, hoping it's just some kind of inflammation. I found a general panel that includes cardiac markers, glucose, cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides, AST, ALT, and GGT.

I noticed that if you suspect a heart attack, there are other cardiac enzymes you can look at as indicators. Could anyone tell me which ones those are? (I found CPK, AST, and LDH—is AST the same thing as the one in the general panel, or is that a different abbreviation?)

Thanks in advance

Chest or back pain is actually super common. It's easy to get spooked by pain on the left side since people always worry it's a heart attack. But there's one question we always ask patients: does the pain change when they move or change positions, like when breathing in or out? If the pain is tied to breathing (and you mentioned it hurt him when he inhaled), that points more toward simple musculoskeletal pain rather than anything involving the heart. Since the pain stopped yesterday, there isn't much reason to suspect an active heart attack right now, so those specific cardiac enzymes probably won't tell you much anyway. As for the lymph nodes, if he isn't dealing with other symptoms—like a nasty sore throat or a fever—I'd probably just wait and only send him for blood work if things get worse in a few days. I don't think there's any real reason to panic.

amberfox99, thank you so much for getting back to me. The pain on his left side has subsided, but since that swelling in his neck was looking pretty significant, I decided to take him in for some blood work—a CBC, sedimentation rate, and CRP. Looking at the results, his basophil granulocytes came back at 0.13 (ref: 0-0.6), while his neutrophil granulocytes are a bit low at 46 (ref: 50-75). As for the CRP, it’s listed as <0.1. (Is it actually possible for CRP to be too low?) Everything else seems to fall within the normal range.
I would really appreciate it if someone could weigh in on these numbers. Based on what little I could gather through some amateur Google searching, I'm wondering if this might be an allergic reaction, something related to parasites, or perhaps something else entirely... but I honestly can't tell if these deviations are significant enough to warrant real concern or if they're just statistical noise. The swelling actually seemed to go down a bit today compared to yesterday...

Betty Howard38 said:amberfox99 thanks so much for the reply. His left side isn't hurting as much anymore, but since the swelling in his neck was pretty significant, I went ahead and had him get blood work done—CBC, CRP, and sedimentation. What came back elevated were the basophils at 0.13 (ref: 0-0.6), while the neutrophils were down at 46 (ref: 50-75), and for the CRP, it says Could someone please weigh in on these numbers? Based on what I've gathered through some amateur Google searching, maybe it’s an allergic reaction, parasites, or something like that, but I can't really tell if these values are actually concerning enough to worry about or if I'm overthinking it. The swelling actually looked a bit better today compared to yesterday.

You mentioned the basophils are 0.13, which is totally fine according to the reference range. As for the neutrophils, they aren't actually low; most labs use 40-70% as a standard range, so being off by a few percent usually doesn't mean anything. The CRP is normal, which suggests there probably isn't any acute inflammation going on. All in all, this looks like a normal set of results. The swelling will likely go down completely in a couple of days. If it hasn't subsided by then, Dad should just check in with his primary care doctor.

amberfox99 said:There aren't any major deviations regarding these results; for the most part, you're just hovering right at the edge of the reference ranges.
The Troponin level is elevated because during a pulmonary embolism—where the pulmonary artery exiting the right ventricle is blocked—the heart is under significantly increased stress, struggling much harder than usual to pump blood. While elevated Troponin is most commonly associated with a heart attack, in this specific context, it’s simply part of the clinical picture of the pulmonary embolism.

You shouldn't let these specific findings worry you. What matters most is that you are on an adequate anticoagulant regimen. If you've been prescribed Warfarin, make sure you get regular blood work so your doctor can monitor your INR levels.

Thank you so much for the explanation. That Troponin level was what worried me most since it deviates quite a bit from the normal range, and I had read that it spikes during heart failure. When I was admitted to the ER, they also checked my D-dimer levels, which were extremely high at 10.1 mg/L, but they didn't re-test them later, so I assume once they used it to diagnose the PE, it wasn't a priority anymore.
I’ve been referred back to the clinic at Mount Sinai for outpatient thrombophilia testing, including Factor V, Factor II, MTHFR, PAI 1, PAI 2, Lupus Anticoagulant, JAK 2 mutation, as well as flow cytometry for PNH, Homocysteine, protein C, and protein S.

amberfox99 said:You mentioned that the basophils were at 0.13, which falls within the normal range. As for the neutrophils, they aren't actually low—most labs use a 40-70% range as a benchmark, and a difference of just a few percent usually doesn't signify anything at all. Since the CRP is normal, there’s likely no acute inflammation present. All things considered, this looks like a clean report. Those swellings will probably subside completely within a few days. If they don't, your dad should just check in with his primary care physician.

I just realized I wrote down the wrong reference value earlier. My apologies. So, the basophils are indeed 0.13, but they're flagged as high because the actual reference range is 0 to 0.06, not 0.6. Which means, effectively, they are double what they should be...

Carol Mitchell68 said:Thanks so much for explaining that. Honestly, seeing that troponin level really spooked me because it was way outside the normal range, and I've read that elevated levels can be a sign of heart failure. When they first brought me into the ER, they ran D-dimer tests too, and those were super high—around 10.1 mg/L. They didn't bother re-checking the D-dimers later on, so I’m guessing they were mostly useful for ruling out a PE initially, and then they just weren't a priority anymore.
They also sent me over to get some outpatient bloodwork done at the clinic to check for thrombophilia: Factor V, F II, MTHFR, PAI 1, PAI 2, LAC, JAK 2 mutation, plus flow cytometry for PNH, Homocysteine, protein C, and protein S.

Look, D-dimer levels are really only useful for making the initial diagnosis. Basically, if they aren't elevated, you can pretty much rule out deep vein thrombosis or a pulmonary embolism. The real mystery here is why someone your age—only 43—ended up with a PE in the first place. Usually, an embolism happens when a tiny clot breaks loose from the deep veins in your legs and travels up to the pulmonary artery, but since you mentioned they couldn't find one there, I guess that's why they're running this whole battery of tests. They're basically trying to figure out if you have some kind of underlying blood clotting disorder.

Betty Howard38 said:I just realized I wrote down the wrong reference range. My bad. So, the basophils are at 0.13, but they're flagged as high because the normal range is actually 0 to 0.06, not 0.6. Basically, they're double what they should be...

I honestly wouldn't try to interpret that myself since I don't know enough about it. It’s always a bit risky to just grab one single number and start worrying. Based on what you wrote, it isn't really clear if your dad has already seen his doctor or not. If he still has that swelling, I’d suggest he goes in to see his physician so they can decide if any follow-up work is needed.
I'm a pretty young doctor and don't have tons of experience yet, so I'd rather not speculate—especially since I haven't actually examined the patient.

My hormone and antibody results just came in, but my doctor is unavailable at the moment. Would someone be willing to provide a general interpretation of these findings?

T4 91.8 nmol/l (ref. range 62.0-150.0)
TSH 6.2 mIU/l (ref. range 0.35 - 4.9)
hTgAb 18.8 IU/ml (< 4.1)
TPO-Ab 4.90 IU/ml (< 5.61)

I should mention that I have a 2 cm nodule on my thyroid, which is why these tests were ordered. I don't experience any significant symptoms, though I do occasionally deal with nervousness and insomnia.

Betty Howard38 said:I just realized I wrote down the wrong reference value. My apologies. So, the basophils are actually 0.13, but they're flagged as high because the reference range is 0 to 0.06, not 0.6. This means they're practically double the upper limit...

Just because a number is double the reference point doesn't necessarily mean you're facing a catastrophe. Some values use different scaling where being off by one or two points is "high," while others can be hundreds of points over the limit without anyone breaking a sweat. It’s all about context, isn't it?

Your doctor will give you the best explanation, assuming they haven't already. 😁

My husband just got his blood work and urinalysis results back today, but he won't be able to see his doctor until Tuesday, so I was hoping someone might be able to offer some perspective. Here is what’s coming in outside the normal ranges:

platelets 149 (ref. 158-424)
neutrophils 37.9 % (ref. 45.0-72.0)
lymphocytes 50.7 % (ref. 20.0-46.0)
Total Bilirubin 27.0 (ref. 3.0-20.0)
AST 53 (ref. 0-38)
iron 43.2 (ref. 11.0-32.0)

urine:
sediment
1-2 leukocytes
1-2 erythrocytes
some Ca Ox

By the way, he's 38, stays pretty active with sports, works a ton, doesn't get much sleep, but honestly, he isn't feeling any particular symptoms or issues at all right now.

Thanks. 🙂

Rachel Gomez81 said:I just got my hormone and antibody results back, but my doctor isn't in the office right now. Could someone please give me a rough idea of what these numbers actually mean?

T4 91.8 nmol/l (ref. range 62.0-150.0)
TSH 6.2 mIU/l (ref. range 0.35 - 4.9)
hTgAt 18.8 IU/ml (< 4.1)
TPO-At 4.90 IU/ml (< 5.61)

Just so you know, I have a 2 cm nodule on my thyroid, which is why they sent me for these tests. I don't really feel any major symptoms, though I do get a bit nervous and struggle with insomnia sometimes.

Best regards
Just speaking from my own experience here—I had very similar results and an elevated TSH, and ended up being diagnosed with hypothyroidism... (though I don't have a thyroid nodule myself).

Could someone give me a quick take on my thyroid hormone results from today?
T3 1.17 nmol/L (ref 1.34-2.73)
T4 83.09 nmol/L (ref 78.38-157.4)
TSH 1.55 mlU/l (ref 0.38-5.33)

This is actually the first time I've ever had these specific hormones tested. I should mention that I've already been diagnosed with elevated testosterone and very high prolactin levels. Does anyone here have experience dealing with this specific combination of sex hormones and thyroid levels? I'm wondering what kind of diagnosis might be coming my way. I'm leaning toward hypothyroidism, and honestly, the whole connection between these and my sex hormones is really weighing on my mind.
Thanks

Hi everyone, could anyone share their thoughts on my dad's post-op PSA levels? He had a radical prostatectomy about five and a half years ago for prostate cancer. His pre-op PSA was 4.8, Gleason Score was 7 (3+4), stage T2C, and the pathology report showed "no tumor cells at the surgical margins." He didn't need any follow-up therapy after the surgery, and his initial post-op PSA was just 0.01.
For the last two years, his PSA stayed steady at 0.02, but his most recent result came back at 0.044. Since there's a visible upward trend, I'm wondering what might be causing this rise, even though it's still technically below the detection limit.
Thanks!

Amanda Perez42 said:Hi there, could anyone give me their thoughts on my dad's post-op PSA trends? He had surgery for prostate cancer about five and a half years ago. It was a radical prostatectomy; back then, his pre-op PSA was 4.8, Gleason Score 7 (3+4), stage T2C, and the pathology report showed "no tumor cells at the surgical margins." He hasn't needed any other treatment since the surgery, and his immediate post-op PSA was 0.01.
For the last two years, it’s been sitting at 0.02, but his most recent result came back at 0.044. I'm just wondering what might be causing this uptick, since there is a visible rise even though it's still technically below the detectable threshold.
Thanks

Honestly, I don't think a PSA of 4.8 was a huge red flag on its own, even if your dad was already dealing with some pretty significant prostate issues at the time. I'm not sure what the specific lower limit is for your lab, but regardless of where that line is drawn, a jump from 0.01 to 0.044 feels pretty negligible to me, whether it's trending up or down.

To be honest, it strikes me as a bit odd that his oncologists haven't suggested anything beyond regular PSA checks after more than five years. It might be worth having him get an ultrasound done, just because it's such a quick and easy way to get a better look without being invasive.

He had two ultrasounds done, and everything looks perfectly fine. So really, nothing is an issue except for that constant rise in his PSA levels over this past year. Isn't it strange how that works?