Sodium

What it measures

Reported in mmol/L or mEq/L — for sodium these are the same number, because the ion carries a single charge, so a result in one needs no conversion to read as the other. Sodium is as much a measure of water as of salt: it usually shifts because of how much fluid is in the body rather than how much salt was eaten.

Reading it in a different unit

This lab reports Sodium 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: 2947-0, 2951-2.