Blood Gas Analysis
Learn how to interpret blood gases (ABGs) like a pro!
Once you’re confident you’ve learnt how to interpret Blood Gases, try out the quiz.
When is ABG useful to investigate oxygenation?
Almost never. For patients with an adequate oximetry waveform, pulse oximetry is usually superior to ABG for measuring oxygenation. ABG is only useful to investigate oxygenation when:
- Pulse oximetry waveform is unreliable.
- Diagnosis of methemoglobinemia.
- Calculation of the PaO2/FiO2 ratio to guide a specific therapeutic decision.
Keep Calm AND Get a Venous Blood Gas
Unless you want to know a patient’s oxygenation (because your pulse oximeter has failed), stop turning your patient into a pin cushion looking for the radial artery and get a venous blood gas
