When monitoring a patient's condition, healthcare professionals often rely on laboratory results to assess improvement or deterioration. In this case, the nurse is looking for specific indicators that suggest improvement.
One such indicator is a decreasing lactate level. High lactate levels can indicate tissue hypoxia and poor perfusion. Therefore, a decrease in lactate level suggests improved tissue oxygenation and perfusion, which is a positive sign.
Another indicator of improvement is an increasing Scvo2 level. Scvo2 stands for central venous oxygen saturation and measures the amount of oxygen bound to hemoglobin in the central venous blood. An increasing Scvo2 level indicates improved tissue oxygenation and can be a sign of improving condition.
However, it is important to note that increasing lactate levels and increasing BUN (blood urea nitrogen) and creatinine levels may suggest worsening condition or impaired kidney function. These changes can indicate poor tissue perfusion and impaired renal function, respectively.
Base excess level, on the other hand, is a measure of acid-base balance and may not directly indicate improvement or deterioration.