An arterial blood gas abg test measures oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in your blood. Interpreting abgs arterial blood gases made easy ausmed. As it is unable to combine with oxygen and it also decreases the oxygen carrying capacity of blood. Each hemoglobin molecule contains four atoms of iron and therefore can combine with four molecules of oxygen. Abgs made easy arterial blood gas interpretation in 10. Mistakes in arterial blood gas abg interpretation are common in clinical practice. Fortunately, there are some easy ways to remember how to decipher these important lab results. I have explained the steps of abg interpretation with the help of some good examples. In this guide, we will teach you the eight 8 steps on how to interpret and analyze arterial blood gas abg results using the tictactoe method. But it is often encountered that many students dont know how to read abg, and thats why we are providing arterial blood gas. Weve created this guide, which aims to provide a structured approach to abg interpretation whilst also increasing your understanding of each results relevance. Once youve mastered this technique, youll be doing actual abg interpretation. Patients are often required to be checked for arterial blood gas analysis to find what exactly is happening in the body of patients system.
It is simple, perhaps simplistic, but it will hopefully arm the reader with the tools and confidence to make better sense of abg results in future. However, practice and experience will ease the frustration. Arterial blood gas abg analysis is a fundamental skill in modern medicine yet one which many find difficult to grasp. Without knowing them, your patient could easily go. The key to making sense of arterial blood gases is to use a structured approach. Arterial blood gas values given in table 1 are general ranges for reference. As pao2 increases, more oxygen diffuses into the red blood cells, where it combines with hemoglobin to form oxyhemoglobin. Arterial blood gases made easy pdf download free ebooks. The interpretation is often easy, however, correlating the same with the infants status can.
Everyone can read an electrolyte level, but when faced with a list of abgs, most nurses wilt. Download arterial blood gases made easy pdf book free from arterial blood gases made easy pdf. The following is a simplified explanation of abgs, including a practical method for interpreting results. Samples from the pulmonary artery are however, more accurate and can only be performed. Knowledge of the basic science behind the subject is essential. This is a video on abg arterial blood gas interpretation. Making sense of arterial blood gases nursing times. Analysis of blood gases is widely used for patients with many different conditions from surgical, medical and intensive care fields. It is important to understand the physiological principles underpinning blood gas analysis, so these will be outlined briefly before exploring some practice issues for patients undergoing arterial blood gas sampling. It also measures your bodys acidbase ph level, which is usually in balance when youre healthy. Arterial blood gas abg interpretation is something many medical students find difficult to grasp weve been there.
In the modern medical practice, the multitasking health providers time. Woodruff, msn, rnbc, cns, cmsrn, cen 6 easy steps to. How to interpret arterial blood gas results correspondence. Components of the arterial blood gas the arterial blood gas provides the following values. This tictactoe technique involves a few charts to help you visualize abgs.
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