Potassium

What it measures

mmol/L and mEq/L are the same number for potassium, as for sodium, since the ion is singly charged. Potassium is one value where how the sample was drawn genuinely matters — a difficult draw can release potassium from cells into the tube and raise the result without anything being wrong, which is why an unexpected value is often repeated before it is acted on.

Reading it in a different unit

This lab reports Potassium in mmol/l. Reports from other labs — especially ones using European or US-style formatting — sometimes use a different unit for the same measurement. The relationship between them:

meq/l is the same value as mmol/l under a different name — nothing to calculate, just a different label on the same number.

Unit conversions verified against published molar masses and LOINC definitions. This is not a diagnostic reference — the normal range for any test is set by the laboratory that ran it and printed on your report.

Why this matters for tracking a trend

A value plotted next to earlier results only tells you something if every point is on the same scale. Two readings of the same test from two different labs, in two different units, can look like a dramatic change when nothing about your actual result changed — only the unit did. Converting to one scale before comparing is what keeps a trend line honest.

LOINC codes for this test: 2823-3, 6298-4.