Acute pancreatitis, i.e. acute inflammation of the pancreas, causes sudden onset of severe upper abdominal pain often radiating to the back. Other symptoms include vomiting, constipation and pyrexia. Two main causes - alcohol abuse and gall stone disease – account for the majority (~80 %) of cases. The condition has a ...

Those who have been resuscitated from cardiac arrest may benefit from mechanical-ventilation strategies aimed at maintaining pCO₂ above the normal (reference) range, 35-45 mmHg (4.7-6.0 kPa). This is the headline finding of recently published research from the FINNRESCUI study group, a collaboration of Finnish...

Umbilical-cord blood gas analysis provides objective evidence of the metabolic status of neonates at the time of delivery. Perinatal metabolic acidosis is indicative of hypoxia (sometimes the result of asphyxia during birth) and associated risk of permanent brain damage.  A recently published study sought to assess...

Since the inception of blood gas analysis, heparin has been the anticoagulant of choice for preparation of samples. Historically, syringes used to collect arterial blood for gas analysis were prepared ”in house” by aspirating a small volume of liquid heparin (LH) and then expelling it. The thin film of liquid heparin...

CO-oximetry provides the means for automated spectrophotometric measurement of the concentration of total hemoglobin (ctHb) in blood and the percentages of the four hemoglobin derivatives that total hemoglobin comprises: oxyhemoglobin (O₂Hb); deoxyhemoglobin (HHb); carboxyhemoglobin (COHb); and methemoglobin (MetHb)....

Neonates nearly always experience their single largest day of blood loss on the day of birth due to admission laboratory testing. The term "admission laboratory testing" refers to the initial blood tests done when a baby is born and admitted to the NICU.  Total circulating blood volume in a 3.5 kg term newborn is 280...

Ensuring adequate oxygen delivery to tissues is a prime objective of acute/critical medical care. There is no routinely available method for directly monitoring tissue oxygenation; instead clinicians must depend on available indirect measures. Although not the only factor to be considered, measurement of the amount of ...

Ensuring that tissues are adequately oxygenated, with the help of supplemental oxygen where necessary, is a prime objective of critical/acute medical care. By measurement of the amount of oxygen dissolved in blood (pO₂(a)) and that bound to hemoglobin (sO₂(a)), arterial blood gas analysis provides the most accurate...

Each issue of the journal Emergency Clinics of North America is devoted to the review of a single topic of relevance to emergency medical care. The topic for the February 2014 issue was clinical toxicology and one of the 11 review articles in this issue, written by an emergency care doctor with specialist interest in...

Whilst arterial blood gas analysis is the gold standard method for determination of arterial oxygen saturation (sO₂(a)), pulse oximetry provides an alternative, more convenient method that does not depend on sampling arterial blood.  Because of its ease of operation and ability to monitor oxygen saturation in real...