How to determine dehydration

How do I determine that the patient is dehyrated by looking at the lab values. I know this shows in the BUN & creatinine levels, but I can't remember. Is the BUN elevated and the creatinine low???
Aren't they both elevated in dehydration?

I'm not sure that's why I'm asking

Electrolytes, urine specific gravity, CBC....chem panel....all can give indications of dehydration; do you have your lab manual/handbook?

In dehydration BUN is elevated while creatinine remains normal. If both BUN and Creat are elevated, then you most likely have some type of renal failure.

Quote from SweetseRNIn dehydration BUN is elevated while creatinine remains normal. If both BUN and Creat are elevated, then you most likely have some type of renal failure.

Quote from SweetseRNIn dehydration BUN is elevated while creatinine remains normal. If both BUN and Creat are elevated, then you most likely have some type of renal failure.

UreaReference range2.0 - 8.2 mmol/LIncreased inPrerenal factorshypovolemiadehydrationhemorrhageloss of fluids (renal, gastrointestinal tract)congestive heart failuresepsisdrug-inducedcatabolic state (eg, trauma, burns, fever)high protein diet

CreatinineReference rangeMale:60-115 μmol/LFemale:40-95 μmol/LIncreased inPrerenal factorshypovolemiadehydrationhemorrhageloss of fluids (renal, gastrointestinal tract)congestive heart failuresepsisdrug-inducedconsumption of cooked meatI found this stuff in my Lab stuff on my iPad. Don't know if it's correct or not!

Sodium level. Elevated, dehydration. Decreased, fluid overload.And if you really want to impress your friends calculate the serum osmolality using the measured sodium, glucose, and BUN.http://www-users.med.cornell.edu/~sp...lc/osmolal.htm

Sodium, BUN and Creat can definitely be elevated in dehydration, or may be completely normal. The way I remembered it was to think of those values being "concentrated" due to decreased fluid volume (blood is made up of mostly water, dehydration reduces the total volume of the circulating blood)another assessment tool for dehydration is orthostatic vital signs, if the patient is dehydrated their blood pressure should decrease and heart rate increase when changing from flat to upright. Tachycardia at rest can also indicate dehydration/fluid volume deficit because your heart is pumping harder to try and circulate less volume throughout the body.hope that helped..

elevated hematocrit also indicates dehydration