Bowel obstruction laboratory findings

Laboratory findings consistent with the diagnosis of bowel obstruction include hyponatremia and hypokalemia, leukocytosis, metabolic alkalosis and elevated serum lactate.

Laboratory findings that may be carried out in order to diagnose bowel obstruction include:^[1][2][3]

• Complete blood count
  • To identify anemia, which may indicate a specific etiology such as Crohn’s disease, Meckel’s diverticulum or malignancy
  • To identify leukocytosis
• Blood urea nitrogen
  • May be elevated indicating renal failure
• Creatinine
  • May be elevated indicating renal failure
• Eletrolytes
  • The presence of hyponatremia and hypokalemia is often noted in cases of bowel obstruction
• Arterial blood gases
  • Although not routine, is useful to assess systemic signs such as hypotension and also for cases of metabolic alkalosis
• Serum lactate
  • Elevated serum lactate may suggest bowel ischemia
• Procalcitonin
  • Prognostic biomarker, elevation more than 0.57ng/ml indicates failure of non-operative management
    

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