ABG interpretation?

I found the following 2 sites very helpful....

http://web.indstate.edu/mary/abgdemo.html

http://realnurseed.com/abg.htm

Good luck...

thanks a lot...Im looking forward to see the sites..God Bless

We're studying ABGs in patho right now. I found this helpful: (Guess I'm not a linear learner)

For non-linear learners,

Respiratory order if pH is up and Paco2 is down or if pH down and Paco2 is up

Metabolic disorder if pH and HCO3 are both up or if pH and HCO3 are both down

Compensating if Paco2 and HCO3 both up or if pH and Hco3 both are down

Mixed if Paco2 up and HCO3down or if Paco2 down and HCO3 is up

pH PaCO2 HCO3 Acid base balance

down up normal Respiratory Acidosis

up down normal Respiratory Alkalosis

down normal down Metabolic Acidosis

up normal up Metabolic Alkalosis

down up up Respiratory Acidosis with metabolic compensation

up up up Metabolic Alkalosis with respiratory compensation

down up down Metabolic and Respiratory Acidsosis

up down up Metabolic and Respiratory Alkalosis

pH PaCO2 HCO3 Acid base balance

down up normal Respiratory Acidosis

up down normal Respiratory Alkalosis

down normal down Metabolic Acidosis

up normal up Metabolic Alkalosis

down up up Respiratory Acidosis with metabolic compensation

up up up Metabolic Alkalosis with respiratory compensation

down up down Metabolic and Respiratory Acidsosis

up down up Metabolic and Respiratory Alkalosis

Here's a graphical representation:::

I always use the ROME mnemonic:

Respiratory opposite (pH and CO2 go opposite directions in resp disorders)

Metabolic equal (pH and HCO3 go same direction in metabolic disorders)

(As an FYI, this is a great forum for issues which primarily affect males, and we do have some really smart guys here like Tweety and Roy, but you might get more views/responses on something like this if it's posted on one of the general nursing forums.)

i always use the rome mnemonic:

respiratory opposite (ph and co2 go opposite directions in resp disorders)

metabolic equal (ph and hco3 go same direction in metabolic disorders)

(as an fyi, this is a great forum for issues which primarily affect males, and we do have some really smart guys here like tweety and roy, but you might get more views/responses on something like this if it's posted on one of the general nursing forums.)

stumbled upon this late, but i agree with you that it's a pretty good topic to have a good discussion on!

moderator note:

moved thread from male nursing forum to general nursing forum.

happy posting! :)

cheers,

roy

allnurses.com moderator

when i recently took the stable course for newborn care, we were given laminated sheets that contained all of the basics for abg interpretation. i had always felt a little fuzzy trying to make sense of abgs, but this tool has done wonders to demystify the whole process.

here is a link to the page where the laminated abg sheet can be ordered:

http://www.stableprogram.org/components.html

the left side is the metabolic range. the right side is the respiratory range. the middle is the ph value. by taking a ruler and lining up the numbers, you can tell immediately what you have.

step one, you look at ph. if it's in normal range, whatever is going on has been corrected. anything outside that range is uncompensated.

step two, line up the ruler on the correct metabolic and respiratory values (with the middle on the ph number). now this might sound incredibly basic but it had never clicked with me before that if one side is up, the other side will be down. like a teeter-totter. maybe it was just because i had never visualized the process. but once i saw it, i understood it in a way i hadn't been able to before.

on the flip side of this sheet is all kinds of additional info.

this tool has helped me far more than all the verbal formulas ever have. seeing it helps me have a context for the written information and trying to figure it out doesn't hurt the way it used to.

the sheet is $6 (don't know about shipping) and, to me, well worth the price.

http://www.nurse-center.com/studentnurse/abgs.html

here will be some examples of some ABGs with the interpretation at the bottom. I can't remember if there are any detailed explanations as above though.

This is really helpful..................