mycrofft
Still crazy but elsewhere
- 11,322
- 48
- 48
Anyone able to guess this one? I learned it yesterday at my cardiologist's.
Suspecting sleep apnea disorder through a blood draw.
- Thread starter mycrofft
- Start date
You can have an elevated hemoglobin/hematocrit secondary to chronic hypoxia. Only thing that comes to mind.
- 9,736
- 1,174
- 113
Didn't even think of that. I though lactate secondary to hypoperfusion from hypoxia but you'd have to be pretty sick/old to not compensate for it. Another thought was elevated CO2 but that'd be more along the lines of an ABG. I feel like both would correct themselves by the time you actually had the blood drawn though.
OP
OP
mycrofft
Still crazy but elsewhere
- 11,322
- 48
- 48
Dwindlin got it. And no shift in red cell distribution width (RDW).
It might be a finding in chronic OSA, but it's not diagnostic for it.
OP
OP
mycrofft
Still crazy but elsewhere
- 11,322
- 48
- 48
It raises suspicion that someone is experiencing chronic oxygen deprivation. APparently the RBC count often if not always stays within normal, if not maybe a skintch high.