Newborn and Premature electrolyte parameters

Comments

• deanne.wilk@hcpro.com

  July 2024

  Hi annnd2009,

  Below is some information I have but you would want to verify with the facility since, as you know, the equipment can vary.

  Sodium (Na+)

  • Normal range for term infants: 135-145 mEq/L
  • Normal range for premature infants: 135-145 mEq/L
  • Abnormal: < 130 mEq/L (hyponatremia) or > 150 mEq/L (hypernatremia)

  Potassium (K+)

  • Normal range for term infants: 3.5-5.5 mEq/L
  • Normal range for premature infants: 4.0-6.5 mEq/L (can be higher in the first days of life)
  • Abnormal: < 3.0 mEq/L (hypokalemia) or > 6.5 mEq/L (hyperkalemia)

  Chloride (Cl-)

  • Normal range for term infants: 98-108 mEq/L
  • Normal range for premature infants: 95-110 mEq/L
  • Abnormal: < 90 mEq/L (hypochloremia) or > 115 mEq/L (hyperchloremia)

  Calcium (Ca2+)

  • Normal range for term infants: 8.5-10.5 mg/dL
  • Normal range for premature infants: 7.5-10.5 mg/dL
  • Abnormal: < 7 mg/dL (hypocalcemia) or > 11 mg/dL (hypercalcemia)

  Phosphorus (P)

  • Normal range for term infants: 4.5-7.5 mg/dL
  • Normal range for premature infants: 5.0-8.0 mg/dL
  • Abnormal: < 4.0 mg/dL (hypophosphatemia) or > 9.0 mg/dL (hyperphosphatemia)

  Magnesium (Mg2+)

  • Normal range for term infants: 1.5-2.5 mg/dL
  • Normal range for premature infants: 1.5-2.5 mg/dL
  • Abnormal: < 1.0 mg/dL (hypomagnesemia) or > 3.0 mg/dL (hypermagnesemia)

  
  
• sarah.leaphart@prismahealth.org

  March 7

  https://forums.acdis.org/discussion/comment/21396#Comment_21396

  Thank you for posting this. I'm working on a tip sheet for our NICU team and need these parameters. Are these ranges from your facility or did you pull these from another resource?
• amynoellebush

  April 25

  Very few lab values differ for neonates than adults. How they are treated and when they are addressed, what is clinically signficant and when may be completely different. If your facility doesn't have the lab ranges listed correctly in your EMR based on age, that would be good first place to begin to make change because that's where the provider will first be alerted to the abnormality and make a decision if it is clinically significant. For the tip sheets I've done surrounding lab values, it's always in the context of a list of findings that are clinical indicators for something that may need to be documented (eg. AKI). Or, it might be a reminder just to address the clinically significant abnormal lab values with a diagnosis and give examples. "High mag cannot be captured, but hypermagnesemia can."

  This is just my thought on this. I would not take up a lot of space on a tip sheet with lab values simply because this is something a provider should know but rather how to document them which they often know but forget.