03/12/10 New Revelations

Last night we were told that Eli's hematocrit levels were exceptionally low. When they drew blood to test for CO2 yesterday they accidentally selected the "test all" option when submitting the blood work to the lab. The lab result came back with a hematocrit level of 22 which is fairly low meaning Eli is anemic. We quickly did some research on-line to figure out what the heck hematocrit is. From my research I believe hematocrit measures the amount of red blood cells in your blood.

The nurse told us that Eli might need a blood transfusion if his hematocrit levels don't increase but they usually put the baby on iron first to see if it can stimulate the production of new red blood cells. The pulmonologists were concerned as well because red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body and Eli has oxygen saturation issues. Obviously hidden in here is the worry that Eli isn't producing new red blood cells for some reason. In my research on the internet I found that the rate of new red blood cell production is influenced by the kidneys. Is it also coincidence that the kidneys are responsible for eliminating waste like bicarbonate and Eli's bicarbonate level is still running a little high?

They ran another blood test on Eli this morning and his hematocrit level is still 22. At Rounds this morning the doctor told Patricia that they were not that concerned with Eli's hematocrit level given the amount of blood that has been drawn over the last 30 days. They also said the test showed that Eli is producing new red blood cells and his levels should return to normal but they will bolster him with an iron supplement and continue to follow his hematocrit level. Eli's CO2 level was a little lower this morning too and the doctors think that's a good sign. They feel the elevated CO2 from yesterday is the highest it will get because the test was done right after he was on high flow oxygen.