Patent ID: 8449524

Claim:
A method of analyzing an analyte in the body fluid of a patient, the method comprising: placing a body fluid analyzer in fluid communication with the body fluid in the patient; transporting a sample of the body fluid toward the body fluid analyzer through a tube; with the body fluid analyzer, measuring at least one characteristic of at least one analyte in the body fluid and determining the concentration of the at least one analyte in the body fluid from the at least one measured characteristic; with a treatment dosing system in communication with the body fluid analyzer, automatically determining a recommended dose for an infusion fluid based at least in part on one or more determinations by the body fluid analyzer of the concentration of the analyte and on a treatment dosing protocol stored in a computer memory; infusing a dose of the infusion fluid from an infusion source through the same tube toward the patient, wherein the dose of the infusion fluid is based at least in part on the recommended dose determined by the treatment dosing system; and with the treatment dosing system, automatically stopping the flow of the infusion fluid to the patient if one or more of the following conditions are met: the concentration of the at least one analyte is below a threshold level; and a trend in the concentration of the at least one analyte indicates that the concentration will soon fall below the threshold level.