Some of the frequently asked questions are: Should we use BE (base excess) or SID (strong ion difference) as a measure of a metabolic acid-base disturbance?  Is there any difference between BB (buffer base) and SID? Should we use SBE (standard base excess), i.e. BE referring to the expanded extracellular fluid or...

Arterial blood gas analysis is often perceived as one of the most difficult topics to be covered in the laboratory medicine curriculum, so many will welcome the promise contained in the title of this book, albeit with a degree of skepticism. They will not be disappointed. This excellent pocket-sized handbook, which...

The significance of preanalytical technique for accurate arterial blood gas analysis is the focus of a recently published study. The authors of this study sought to quantitate the analytical error associated with collection of venous rather than arterial blood, delay in arterial blood analysis and contamination of...

One of the principal utilities of arterial blood gas (ABG) analysis is to help assess blood oxygenation status. The two ABG parameters used for this assessment are pO₂(a) (partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood) and sO₂(a) (% of total hemoglobin that is saturated with oxygen). In health pO₂(a) is maintained...

The serum (plasma) anion gap is a useful additional piece of clinical information that can be easily derived without cost from the results of the most commonly requested biochemical profile, urea and electrolytes (U&E). It is the difference between the sum of measured anions (chloride and bicarbonate) and the sum of...

Although measurement of serum lactate has an established role in the monitoring of critically ill patients at many hospitals around the world, the practice is by no means universal, reflecting a controversy that still surrounds the topic. In short there remains no consensual answer to the broad question: Should we...

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a life-threatening acute metabolic disturbance that results from absolute or relative insulin deficiency. It is usually precipitated by intercurrent illness and is a relatively common complication of type 1 diabetes but only rarely occurs in those suffering type 2 diabetes.  The cardinal ...

Critical values are those associated with imminent danger unless acted upon promptly. Critical value menus often include results that do not fit this definition, leading to highly variable practice in adult and pediatric laboratories. Existing menus may be subdivided into more uniform tiers of severity: the highly...

No history of the development of blood gas analysis and its application in clinical and physiology research would be complete without consideration of the pioneering work of anesthesiologist researcher Dr John Severinghaus.  As a young research fellow in the 1950s he developed the Stow-Severinghaus-type carbon dioxide ...

Traditionally, interpretation of blood gas results for the assessment of acid-base status has been based on the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation, the central focus of which is the carbon dioxide – the bicarbonate buffer system. At its most reduced form the equation can be stated as “pH is proportional to the ratio of...