Metabolic acidosis is a common metabolic disturbance among the acutely/critically ill that has many possible causes. The condition is diagnosed by arterial blood gas analysis which reveals primary reduction in pH and bicarbonate, followed by secondary (compensatory) reduction in pCO₂.  Abnormal accumulation of...

Blood gas analysis is unique among blood tests in its requirement for arterial blood; all others are performed on venous, or more rarely, capillary blood samples. Sampling arterial blood is a technically difficult procedure to perform, and painful for the patient: significantly more painful than sampling either venous ...

The preanalytical phase of laboratory testing has long been recognized as a stage for potential error, and blood gas analysis is a test that is well-recognized as being particularly vulnerable in this regard. Much research has been directed at devising procedures that minimize variability of measured blood gas...

The term acidosis was first mentioned in the medical literature in 1898 in connection with the description of diabetic ketoacidosis. Alkalosis was first used in human medicine in 1922 by the English physiologist J. S. Haldane; it had been used in veterinary medicine somewhat earlier. In 1870, the Norwegians C. M....

Test results, essential for quality healthcare, constitute more than 70% of patients’ health records. Because quality results are so important, governments around the world mandate a series of laboratory practices to ensure quality.  All laboratories in the United States follow the Clinical Laboratory Improvement...

Arterial blood gases are frequently useful in the clinical management of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to assess both oxygenation and acid-base status.   A recent review article focuses on disturbance of acid-base in these patients, which occurs in advanced disease when pulmonary gas...

The anion gap (AG) is a calculated parameter derived from measured plasma electrolyte concentrations that is most frequently used to elucidate acid-base disturbances in the critically ill. It is defined as the difference between measured anions and cations in blood plasma and is calculated by subtracting the sum of...

When collecting blood for blood gas analysis, it is important to remove air bubbles from syringes to avoid erroneous results, especially for pO₂, with a number of factors affecting the potential magnitude of the interference to pO₂ by air bubbles.  In this study, we calculate the expected theoretical changes in pO₂...

Reprinted and translated by permission of Läkartidningen from “Serumlaktat - användbar analys inom akutsjukvården”, by Bengt R Widgren and Monique Ekhardt, 2011; vol 108: 475-477. Copyright 2011 by Author, Läkartidningen and AB Typoform, Sweden.Translated by Radiometer Medical ApS. In emergency care triage, diagnosis...

By measurement of the partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood (pO₂(a)) and oxygen saturation in arterial blood (sO₂(a)), blood gas analysis provides the means for monitoring supplemental oxygen therapy. Oxygen is prescribed in many medical emergencies in which tissue oxygenation is threatened because of...