An arterial blood gas is a sample of arterial blood, collected in a dedicated, heparinised syringe and analysed at the point of care. The sample must be taken from an artery, either via an arterial line or aspirated directly using a syringe. ๐
What does it tell you? ๐ค
What doesn’t it tell you! Here is the run down:
๐๐ฝ Gas exchange: PaCO2, PaO2, SpO2, O2 content ๐ฌ๏ธ
Assesses ventilation, gas exchange and oxygen availability.
๐๐ฝ Acid/base status: pH, bicarbonate, base excess โ๏ธ
Allows the cause and type of metabolic disturbance to be assessed.
๐๐ฝ Haemoglobin: ๐ฉธ
A rough marker of bleeding, guides transfusion.
๐๐ฝ Electrolytes: Sodium, Potassium โก
๐๐ฝ Blood Glucose ๐ฌ
A helpful marker of poor tissue perfusion as a result of bleeding, sepsis, or parts of the body that have compromised blood flow.
๐๐ฝ Extras: Methaemoglobin and carbon monoxide ๐ก๏ธ
Other causes of abnormal oxygen delivery.
Putting this all together, the arterial blood gas is a simple and real-time method of diagnosing and managing disorders associated with:
โค๏ธ๐ฉน Heart & Lung disease
โ๏ธ Acid/base disturbance
โก Electrolyte dysfunction
โ ๏ธ Poisoning and exposure
For more information about arterial blood gases, check out our Live Series session on Monitoring! ๐ฅ
Ref: Castro D, Patil SM, Zubair M, et al. Arterial Blood Gas. [Updated 2024 Jan 8]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK536919/
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