List of critical values
ANALYTE |
AGE RANGE |
CRITICAL VALUE |
UNITS |
Anion Gap |
Any age |
>30 |
mmol/L |
Bicarbonate (Whole Blood) |
Any age |
<10 |
mEq/L |
Calcium * |
Any age |
<6.5 |
mg/dL |
Chloride |
Any age |
<80 |
mmol/L |
CO2 |
Any age |
<10 |
mmol/L |
CO Hemoglobin |
Any age |
>20 |
% |
Free (ionized) Calcium * |
Any age |
<0.8 |
mmol/L |
Creatinine |
1-28 days 5weeks-23mo 2y-11y 12y-15y Adults |
≥1.5 ≥2 ≥2.5 ≥3 ≥10 |
mg/dl |
Digoxin |
Any age |
≥4 |
ng/ml |
Glucose |
0-2 days |
<35 |
mg/dL |
Glucose |
<30 days |
>200 |
mg/dL |
Glucose (GDM) |
Any age |
<50 |
mg/dL |
Glucose PXP Glucose meter (POCT) |
Any age |
<40 |
mg/dL |
Iron, Serum |
Any age |
≥350 |
ug/dL |
Magnesium |
Any age |
<1.0 |
mg/dL |
pCO2 |
Any age |
>65 |
mmHg |
pH |
Any age |
<7.20 |
pH units |
pH - Arterial & Venous Blood Gases, Cord Blood |
Any age |
<= 7.00 |
N/A |
Base Excess - Arterial & Venous |
Any age |
<= -10.0 |
mmol/L |
Phosphorus |
<3 years of age |
≤2.5 |
mg/dL |
pO2 (arterial) |
Any age |
<50 |
mg/dL |
Potassium |
Less than 1 week |
<2.5 |
mmol/L |
Potassium; |
Any age |
<3.0 |
mmol/L |
Sodium |
Any age |
<125 |
mmol/L |
TCO₂ (Whole Blood) |
Any age |
<10 |
mEq/L |
Total Bilirubin |
<1 day |
≥7 |
mg/dL |
Troponin I |
Any age |
≥0.3 |
ng/mL |
Troponin I: |
Any age |
≥0.1 |
ng/mL |
* Calcium: mmol/L (SI unit) = 0.25 (conversion factor) x mg/dL (conventional unit)
|
Critical value |
|||
Hb |
Critical value: ≤ 6.0 g/dl, ≥ 20 g/dl
|
|||
Hct |
Critical value: ≤ 18%, > 60%
|
|||
WBC |
Critical value: ≤ 2.0, ≥ 49.9X103 /ul
|
|||
Platelets |
Critical value: ≤ 20,000,≥ 999,000/ ul
|
|||
Absolute neutrophil count |
Critical value: <500/ cm3 or ,≥ 999,000/ ul
|
3- COAGULATION
ANALYTE |
AGE RANGE |
CRITICAL VALUE |
UNITS |
Fibrinogen |
Any age |
<100 |
mg/dL |
Heparin, unfractionated |
Any age |
<0.1 |
IU/mL |
PTT
|
Any age |
≥100 |
sec |
PT INR |
Any age |
>5.0 INR
|
N/A |
PT INR; |
Any age |
>4.5 |
N/A |
ANALYTE |
AGE RANGE |
CRITICAL VALUE |
UNITS |
Any assay: Potential Bioterrorism Agent |
Any age |
Presence of potential B. anthracis or any BT agent. Bacillus anthracis Francisella tularensis Yersinia pestis Brucella species |
N/A |
Blood Culture |
Any age |
Any clinically important positive result per protocol |
N/A |
Mycobacterium Tuberculosis: Ziehl neelsen stain, Culture or PCR Test |
Any age |
Positive |
N/A |
Stool culture |
<18 years |
Positive Shiga toxin producing E. Coli
|
N/A |
CSF culture |
Any age |
Organism seen in CSF direct film or culture |
N/A |
ANALYTE |
AGE RANGE |
CRITICAL VALUE |
UNITS |
Antigen test, culture, serology, or molecular test |
Any age |
Positive or suspicious for any Pandemic (Influenza or SARS) or Bioterrorism Agents (Smallpox, Viral hemorrhagic fever agents |
N/A |
Any CSF Assay |
Any age |
Positive (including virus growth or molecular test) |
N/A |
J Aldrige 05/2008 mod 09/2009
stanfordhealthcare.org/health-care-professionals/laboratory-critical-value-list.html