Pulmonary embolus (PE) results in a mismatch between alveolar perfusion and ventilation, with potential for development of hypoxemia (reduced pO₂) and hypocapnia (reduced pCO₂), so that arterial blood gases (ABG) are frequently ordered for patients either suffering or suspected of suffering PE.  Is it possible to make ...

During air travel more than a half of all passengers suffer a degree of hypoxemia that might trigger prescription of supplemental oxygen therapy if it occurred in hospitalized patients. That is the finding of a recent study which sought to establish the effect that air travel has on measured oxygen saturation.  When...

Anemia is the collection of signs and symptoms of reduced oxygen delivery to tissues as a result of a reduction in the number of red cells and/or reduction in blood concentration of hemoglobin. In clinical practice, anemia is diagnosed if the blood concentration of hemoglobin (ctHb) is abnormally low.  The World...

If the results of a "‘small snapshot survey" are representative, then there is a need for continued education of UK medical staff in the interpretation of arterial blood gas (ABG) results. Sixty-six medical staff of all grades and from a range of disciplines, all working at one hospital, were asked to complete a...

We are all wary to a greater or lesser extent of the doctor advancing with needle and syringe. Arterial puncture required for blood gas analysis is a particularly painful procedure, certainly more painful than venipuncture.  Many studies have demonstrated that administration of local anesthesia is effective in...

Venous blood is an acceptable alternative to arterial blood for estimation of bicarbonate by blood gas analysis, according to the results of a recently published Australian study. Over a six-month study period, clinicians at the Emergency Department of Western Hospital in Melbourne simultaneously sampled venous and...

Disturbance of normal acid-base balance is a defining feature of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), the acute and potentially life-threatening complication of diabetes that results from severe insulin deficiency. The cause of the acidosis in such cases is abnormal accumulation in blood of the two ketoacids, acetoacetate and ...

Mechanical ventilation is normally adjusted so that pCO2 is maintained within normal limits (35-45 mmHg). However, the intensity of ventilation required to sustain a normal pCO2 can cause mechanical damage to the lungs of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).  One of the strategies used to minimize ...

In a recent editorial, UK blood-transfusion experts argue that the spiraling cost of maintaining and improving the safety of the blood supply is becoming increasingly less cost effective.  Over the past ten years the cost of the UK blood supply doubled in real terms from GBP 250 to GBP 500 million.  Most of this...

Preterm, very-low-birth-weight babies require intensive laboratory testing, including frequent blood gas analysis, during the first few weeks of life. It has been estimated that the weekly blood loss associated with phlebotomy for blood testing can amount to as much as 30 % of the total blood volume of these tiny,...