High Urine Specific Gravity: Dehydration (Nursing)

00:00 We know that urine specific gravity, the more dehydrated a patient is, the higher the specific gravity number will be.

00:08 So were you able to remember that normal is this value? Did you recognize when we say, a higher specific gravity number, it would be moving towards 0.30 or past it.

00:20 Okay, those are really important concepts.

00:22 So dehydration, - look, wait a minute, 1.025 is still within normal range.

00:29 Yeah, it is.

00:30 But you're definitely moving towards with pretty severe dehydration.

00:34 So when you see this number, remember that it's a spectrum.

00:38 It's not like 1.29 is fine.

00:41 1.31 is, Whoo! danger Will Robinson.

00:44 You have to know that this is a spectrum.

00:46 Certain patients are going to be impacted by dehydration more than others.

00:51 So know that, as my patient is becoming dehydrated, that number gets higher.

00:57 Yes, it's still within normal range, but that means they should respond fairly quickly to volume replacement.

01:04 Now severe dehydration is past that number of 1.030.

01:10 Now the quick quiz, if I'm severely dehydrated, if I have a urine specific gravity of 1.35, is my blood pressure high or low? Right, low.

01:18 Is my heart rate high or low? Right, high.

01:22 Make sure you have that concept solid, so you can recognize it in a clinical setting.