Published May 9, 2010
qcumba
54 Posts
hi there, does any one know of a blood gas calculator that uses kPa instead of mmHg?
I am stuck on a gas which indicates that the pH is elevated - 7.55- therefore showing alkalosis, with a pCO2 of 6 kPa - borderline normal, pO2 of 11 kPa - normal and a HCO3 of 33 - elevated, so am I correct in assuming that it's a metabolic alkalosis? but is it compensated or not
and then, another one that shows a pH of 7.45 - borderline normal, pCO2 of 3.9 kPa - low, pO2 of 10 - normal, HCO3 - 23 again normal, I thought this was a compensated resp alkalosis because of the borderline normal pH and decreased pCO2, is that correct?
Sorry, I am new in ICU and these are gases we got in an exam, I get a bit confused when it comes to compensated and non compensated, would really appreciate some help, as you can see I have tried, so it is not a lazy "please just give me the answer thread"
Thank you
sunnycalifRN
902 Posts
multiply your kPa by 7.5 to get mmHg . . . it will be easier to interpret your ABG's
thanks I will give that a try :)
ukstudent
805 Posts
If your pH is within normal, but CO2 and/or Bicab is abnormal then it is compensated. If the pH is abnormal then it is uncompensated.
remember, google is your friend.
I googled ABG interpretation and found many hits.
this one looked fine: ABG Interpretation Method