How to Calculate Meld
Instructions
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Determine the patient's INR, bilirubin and creatinine blood test results. It is helpful to keep a patient's date of birth in mind when considering the calculations. Many online calculators request the patient's date of birth or suggest that results are more accurate for patients age 12 and older.
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2
Plug the blood test results into the following calculation: 10 {0.957 Ln(creatinine value) + 0.378 Ln(bilirubin value) + 1.12 Ln(INR value) + 0.643}. Ln stands for the Natural Log. It is the logorithm for the irrational constant base e. It comes to approximately 2.718281828. The minimum value for each variable is 1. The maximum creatinine value is 4.
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3
Calculate the results. Patient's receive transplants based on "medical urgency" which means based on their MELD score in lieu of their time on the wait list. Thus, while a higher MELD score means that the patient is sicker, it might prove advantageous because it moves the patient up the wait list.
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