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Faulkton Area Medical
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Lab BMP Also known as: Chem 7, SMA 7 (somewhat
outdated terms) The Basic Metabolic Panel (BMP) is a group of 8 specific tests that have been approved, named, and assigned a CPT code (a Current Procedural Terminology number) as a panel by Medicare. Since the majority of insurance companies also use these names and CPT codes in their claim processing, this grouping of tests has become standardized throughout the United States. The BMP is often ordered in the hospital emergency room setting because its components give doctors important information about the current status of your kidneys, electrolyte and acid/base balance, blood sugar, and calcium levels. Significant changes in these tests result can indicate acute problems. such as kidney failure, insulin shock or diabetic coma, respiratory distress, or heart rhythm changes. The BMP is also used to monitor hospitalized patients and to monitor patients with some known conditions, such as hypertension and hypokalemia (low potassium level). If your doctor is interested in following two or more individual BMP components, she may order the entire BMP because it offers more information. Alternatively, she may order the entire BMP because it offers monitoring, such as a follow-up glucose, potassium, or calcium, or order an electrolyte panel to monitor sodium, potassium, chloride, and CO2. If your doctor wants more information, she may order a Complete Metabolic Panel (CMP), a group of tests that includes the BMP. The BMP includes:
Both increase and decrease levels can be significant. Electrolytes
The concentrations of sodium and potassium are tightly regulated by the body as is the balance between the four tests. Electrolyte (and acid-base) imbalances can be present with a wide variety of acute and chronic illnesses. Chloride and CO2 tests are rarely ordered by themselves. Kidney Tests
BUN and creatinine are waste products filtered out of the body by the kidneys. Increased concentrations in the blood may indicate a temporary or chronic decrease in kidney function. When not ordered as part of the BMP, they are still usually ordered together. The BMP uses a tube of blood collected by inserting a needle into a vein in your arm. Ask your doctor whether you should be fasting for 10 to 12 hours prior to the blood draw. Depending on the reason for ordering the BMP, it may be drawn after fasting or on a random basis. |
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Last Updated 02/05/2010 |
