Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP)

How is the test used?

The comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP) is used as a broad screening tool to evaluate the health of your organs and to screen for conditions such as diabetes, liver disease, and kidney disease. The CMP may also be ordered to monitor known conditions, such as high blood pressure (hypertension), and to monitor treatment with specific medications that may affect kidney or liver function. If your healthcare practitioner is interested in monitoring two or more individual CMP components, your practitioner may order the entire CMP because it offers more information.

When is it ordered?

The CMP may be ordered when you have a routine health exam. The panel is often ordered as part of a medical exam when you are ill, in the hospital, or in the emergency department. CMPs may be ordered regular intervals when you have an ongoing or long-term condition that is being monitored or when you are taking specific medication that may affect liver or kidney function.

What does the test result mean?

Results of the tests that are part of the CMP are typically evaluated together to look for patterns of results. A single abnormal test result may mean something different than if several test results are abnormal. For example, a high result on just one of the liver enzyme tests has different implications than high results on several liver enzyme tests.

Sometimes, especially in hospitalized patients, several sets of CMPs, often performed on different days, may be evaluated to gain insights into the underlying condition and response to treatment.

The results report will usually have one column called a "reference range" and another for your results. Results that fall outside the reference range for any of the tests in the CMP can be due to a variety of different conditions.

View a Sample Report

While the individual tests are sensitive, they do not usually tell your healthcare practitioner specifically what is wrong. Abnormal test results or groups of test results are usually followed up with other specific tests to help confirm or rule out a suspected diagnosis.

See the articles on the individual tests for more detailed information about each one.

• Glucose
• Calcium
   

Proteins

• Albumin
• Total Protein
   

Electrolytes

• Sodium
• Potassium
• CO2 (carbon dioxide, bicarbonate)
• Chloride
   

Kidney Tests

• BUN (blood urea nitrogen)
• Creatinine
   

Liver Tests

• ALP (alkaline phosphatase)
• ALT (alanine amino transferase)
• AST (aspartate amino transferase)
• Bilirubin

Are these tests always run as a panel?

No. Each of these tests may be ordered individually. However, if your healthcare practitioner is interested in following two or more individual CMP components, your practitioner may order the entire CMP because it offers more information. Alternatively, a healthcare provider may order individual tests when monitoring specific conditions.

How is the CMP different than the BMP and why would my doctor order one over the other?

The CMP typically includes 14 tests. The basic metabolic panel (BMP) is a subset of the CMP and usually includes 8 tests. It does not include the liver tests (ALP, ALT, AST, and bilirubin) and protein tests (albumin and total protein). Healthcare practitioners may order a CMP rather than a BMP if they want to get a more complete picture of the health of your organs or to check for specific conditions, such as diabetes, liver disease, or kidney disease.

One of the results from my CMP is slightly out of range. What does this mean?

The results of your CMP are interpreted by your healthcare provider within the context of other tests that you have had done as well as other factors, such as your medical history. A single result that is slightly high or low may or may not have medical significance. There are several reasons why a test result may differ on different days and why it may fall outside a designated reference range.

• Biological variability (different results in the same person at different times): If a healthcare practitioner runs the same test on you on several different occasions, there's a good chance that one result will fall outside a reference range even though you are in good health. For biological reasons, your values can vary from day to day.
• Individual variability (differences in results between different people): References ranges are usually established by collecting results from a large population and determining from the data an expected average (mean) result and expected differences from that average (standard deviation). There are individuals who are healthy but whose tests results, which are normal for them, do not always fall within the expected range of the overall population.

Thus, a test value that falls outside of the established reference range supplied by the laboratory may mean nothing significant. Generally, this is the case when the test value is only slightly higher or lower than the reference range and this is why a healthcare practitioner may repeat a test on you and why the practitioner may look at results from prior times when you had the same test performed.

However, a result outside the range may indicate a problem and warrant further investigation. Your healthcare provider will evaluate your test results in the context of your medical history, physical examination, and other relevant factors to determine whether a result that falls outside of the reference range means something significant for you.

For more, read the articles on Reference Ranges and What They Mean and How Reliable is Laboratory Testing?

Is there anything else I should know?

A variety of prescription and over-the-counter drugs can affect the results of CMP tests. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider about any medications you are taking. Likewise, it is important to give a complete history as many other factors can also affect the interpretation of your results.