Price
*Choose a city for the actual price
A bicarbonate body fluids test is used by doctors to study the level of bicarbonate, which is a form of carbon dioxide in your body fluids. The body fluids that are commonly tested during the bicarbonate body fluids test is peritoneal or abdominal fluid.
Bicarbonate (HCO3) is a byproduct of the body’s metabolic processes. It is excreted in two ways from the body. It is either brought to the lungs where it is exhaled as carbon dioxide or it is excreted from the kidneys. However, in the case of kidneys, it is again reabsorbed by the body through your kidneys to maintain the pH and acidic balance in your body.
This test is almost always a part of a larger group of blood tests used by doctors to understand problems with the metabolism, liver, or kidneys in the body.
The bicarbonate body fluids test is prescribed when doctors suspect symptoms like vomiting, sleepiness, and loss of appetite are caused by a pH imbalance in the body. This test is also prescribed by doctors if they suspect you have kidney disease, liver failure, metabolism problems, and lung problems. As a body fluids test, the peritoneal and pleural fluid can be used to diagnose the conditions mentioned.
The normal level of bicarbonate in body fluids is 22 to 29 mmol/L. The normal levels of bicarbonate in dialysis fluid is 32 to 40 mmol/L. Based on your bicarbonate body fluids test results doctors can diagnose conditions like metabolic alkalosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, and anorexia, if the bicarbonate content of body fluids is high.
If the bicarbonate levels are lower than the normal range, it could indicate that the patient has metabolic acidosis. Other conditions that can be caused due to lower than normal levels of bicarbonate test include kidney disease, diarrhoea, and liver failure.
A bicarbonate body fluids test is performed using techniques such as abdominal tap or pleural tap. Based on the body fluids being tested, doctors will draw the body fluids from the body using a long hollow needle and send it for testing. For dialysis fluid testing, a sample of the fluid is collected before delivery to the patient and sent for testing. There are no specific prerequisites for this test.