The nurse is caring for an elderly patient with dementia. Which laboratory finding indicates to the nurse that that patient is often forgetting to eat meals?
a. Serum bilirubin 0.4 mg/dL
b. PLT (platelet count) 425,000/mm3
c. Serum cholesterol 175 mg/dL
d. Albumin 1.4 g/dL
ANS: D
Albumin level is an indicator of the patient's protein intake and nutritional status. Normal albumin level is 3.3 to 5.5 g/dL. A very low albumin level of 1.4 g/dL indicates to the nurse that the patient has not been eating well and missing meals.
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