Laboratory Results and Diagnostic Testing

A laboratory value is useful only when it is connected to the patient in front of you. A potassium of 6.2 mEq/L means something very different in an alert patient with a normal ECG than in a weak, bradycardic patient with widening QRS complexes. The number matters, but symptoms, vital signs, medications, baseline function, and the direction of change determine urgency. For the LVN/LPN, safe lab interpretation follows a repeatable sequence: assess the patient, verify that the result belongs to the patient and specimen, identify whether it meets the facility's critical-result criteria, and use the escalation pathway immediately. Reporting a result is not the endpoint. The loop closes when a clinician authorized to act has acknowledged the finding and the action—or decision not to act—is documented.