Posted by Sofia from IP 207.233.76.65 on April 04, 2008 at 15:05:21:
In Reply to: usmle123 question posted by starting on March 25, 2008 at 13:49:40:
Yes we need CBC, but in an older pt, with excessive thirst,tachycardia, postural hypotension, mild fever an on diuretic and B-blocker, U wanna know first fluid and electrolyte status. There is some dehydration here and the postural hypotension is the first parameter to change along with tachycardia. But the question here is the constipation, abdominal pain, dehydration, and thiazide diuretics all point towards hypercalcemia and you want to check that first.