Blood gas analysis (BGA) is a laboratory and point-of-care test routinely used to assess acid-base status along with adequacy of ventilation and oxygenation among predominantly critically/acutely ill patients.  The ”gold standard” sample for BGA is arterial blood collected anaerobically by needle puncture of an artery ...

Blood gas analysis (BGA) provides the means for the most accurate assessment of patient oxygenation status; the two relevant blood gas parameters being partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood (pO₂(a)), and % hemoglobin oxygen saturation (sO₂(a)).  Pulse oximetry, a technology now ubiquitous in all areas of...

Hemodialysis and related treatments for those with failing kidneys all involve blood flow through a circuit outside the body. This extracorporeal circuit - the dialysis machine and its connections from and back to the body - is a non-physiological, pro-coagulant environment.  To counter the tendency for patients'...

Arterial blood gas analysis is used to assess and monitor patient acid-base status. Disturbance of acid-base balance is classified to one of four main types depending on the pH, pCO₂(a) and bicarbonate results generated during blood gas analysis; the four types are respiratory acidosis, respiratory alkalosis,...

The process of patient sample testing, whether performed in the clinical laboratory or at the point of care, is the sum of three distinct phases. The first is the preanalytical phase, which includes test selection as well as sample collection and handling.  The second is the analytical or measuring phase that...

Increasing obesity is associated with worsening arterial blood gases (pO₂(a) and pCO₂(a)). That is the headline finding of a recent cross-sectional study of morbidly obese individuals with apparently normal lung function and no respiratory disease.  The study population comprised 114 women and 35 men with a mean (SD) ...

Pulse oximetry provides the means for continuous non-invasive monitoring of blood oxygenation by measuring % oxygen saturation (SpO₂). This safe, easy and convenient method of monitoring oxygenation status is ubiquitous in clinical medicine and is now a routine part of the overall assessment and monitoring of all...

Mechanical ventilation is necessary for survival of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). It was once supposed that ventilation should be adjusted to maintain pCO₂(a) within the normal range but this degree of mechanical ventilation can result in further damage to the lungs. Less aggressive (low...

Many drugs, when taken in overdose, can deleteriously affect acid-base balance, leading to abnormal arterial blood gas (ABG) results. Aspirin is one such, and perhaps because of its easy availability, one of the most common of all drugs to be taken in overdose. Salicylate (aspirin) poisoning thus represents the most...

Most babies born prematurely have respiratory problems and require assisted ventilation and oxygen therapy to ensure adequate tissue oxygenation. Supplemental oxygen is a double-edged sword for these babies because although of life-preserving benefit, oxygen in excess is toxic.  The principal (but not the only)...