Patient education: Electrolyte panel (The Basics)

What is an electrolyte panel? — An electrolyte panel is a type of blood test. It measures the levels of certain substances called "electrolytes" in the body. The word "panel" means multiple tests are done on the same blood sample.

Electrolytes are minerals and other substances that are found in all parts of the body. This includes the muscles, heart, blood, brain, and kidneys. Electrolytes do many different things, including:

●Controlling the amount of fluid in the body

●Keeping the body's "acids" and "bases" balanced – Substances in the body are an acid, a base, or neutral. The body needs the right balance of acids and bases to work correctly.

●Helping to send signals between cells

An electrolyte panel measures the levels of:

●Sodium

●Chloride

●Potassium

●Bicarbonate

Why might I get an electrolyte panel? — Your doctor might order an electrolyte panel if you have certain symptoms, such as:

●Nausea or vomiting

●Confusion

●Swelling in a part of your body

●Muscle cramps or muscle weakness

An electrolyte panel can help your doctor check for certain health problems. It can also be used to monitor the treatment of a known health problem, such as:

●Heart, lung, or kidney problems

●Diabetes

●High blood pressure

You might also get an electrolyte panel if your results on a different type of blood test were abnormal.

How do I prepare for an electrolyte panel? — For this test, you need to get a "blood draw." Your doctor or nurse will tell you where to go for this.

It might help to wear a short-sleeve shirt to your blood draw appointment. This makes it easier for the person drawing the blood to get to your arm.

What happens during a blood draw? — For the blood draw, a needle is used to take a small amount of blood from your arm (figure 1). Collecting the blood only takes a few minutes. The blood is then tested in a lab.

Tell the person who takes your blood:

●If you take "blood thinner" medicines or if you have a bleeding problem – They will make sure your bleeding is under control before you leave.

●If you have a latex allergy – Some of the supplies used for blood draws might contain latex.

●If you have a preferred arm to use

Most of the time, getting blood taken does not cause problems. You might have a little soreness or bruising where the needle went in.

What do my results mean? — Your doctor or nurse will tell you when to expect your results, and will contact you with the results. Or if you use an online "patient portal," you might get an alert there when your results are ready.

If your electrolyte panel shows any abnormal results, your doctor or nurse will talk to you about what to do next. They might need to do more tests to figure out what the cause is.

If you do have a health problem, your doctor will work with you to come up with a plan for treatment.

More on this topic

Patient education: Sodium test (The Basics)
Patient education: Potassium test (The Basics)
Patient education: Bicarbonate test (The Basics)
Patient education: Basic metabolic panel (The Basics)
Patient education: Renal function panel (The Basics)