Arterial blood gas interpretation worksheet with answers

Free printable Arterial blood gas interpretation worksheet: 6 problems from easy to exam level, with an answer key. Print it or save it as a PDF.

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Name: ____________________   Date: ____________

1.Easy
pH7.357.457.47PaCO₂mmHg354524HCO₃⁻mmol/L222617respiratorymetabolicacidosisalkalosis

A practice arterial blood gas shows pH 7.47, PaCO₂ 24 mmHg (3.2 kPa) and HCO₃⁻ 17 mmol/L. Which primary disorder is it? Click the cell in the grid.

pH 7.47PaCO₂ 24 mmHg (3.2 kPa)HCO₃⁻ 17 mmol/L
  1. 1respiratory acidosis
  2. 2metabolic acidosis
  3. 3respiratory alkalosis
  4. 4metabolic alkalosis
2.Easy
pH7.357.457.51PaCO₂mmHg354539HCO₃⁻mmol/L222630respiratorymetabolicacidosisalkalosis

A practice arterial blood gas shows pH 7.51, PaCO₂ 39 mmHg (5.2 kPa) and HCO₃⁻ 30 mmol/L. Which primary disorder is it? Click the cell in the grid.

pH 7.51PaCO₂ 39 mmHg (5.2 kPa)HCO₃⁻ 30 mmol/L
  1. 1respiratory acidosis
  2. 2metabolic acidosis
  3. 3respiratory alkalosis
  4. 4metabolic alkalosis
3.Medium

A practice gas shows a metabolic acidosis with HCO₃⁻ 8 mmol/L. Use Winter’s formula to find the expected PaCO₂ (the centre of the range) in mmHg.

HCO₃⁻ 8 mmol/L
PaCO₂ = mmHg
4.Medium

Practice values: Na⁺ 142 mmol/L, glucose 29.8 mmol/L and urea 7.5 mmol/L. Calculate the serum osmolality Osm = 2·Na⁺ + glucose + urea to the nearest whole number.

Na⁺ 142 mmol/Lglucose 29.8 mmol/Lurea 7.5 mmol/L
Osm = mOsm/kg
5.Hard

Practice values: Na⁺ 135, Cl⁻ 112, HCO₃⁻ 10 mmol/L and albumin 22 g/L. Find the albumin-corrected anion gap AGc = AG + 0.25·(40 − albumin).

Na⁺ 135 mmol/LCl⁻ 112 mmol/LHCO₃⁻ 10 mmol/Lalbumin 22 g/L
AGc = mmol/L
6.Hard
pH7.357.457.25PaCO₂mmHg354519HCO₃⁻mmol/L22268appropriate compensationadded respiratory acidosisadded respiratory alkalosis

A practice gas shows a metabolic acidosis: pH 7.25, PaCO₂ 19 mmHg (2.5 kPa), HCO₃⁻ 8 mmol/L. Compare the measured PaCO₂ with Winter’s formula. Click your interpretation.

pH 7.25PaCO₂ 19 mmHg (2.5 kPa)HCO₃⁻ 8 mmol/L
  1. 1appropriate compensation
  2. 2added respiratory acidosis
  3. 3added respiratory alkalosis

Answer key

  1. 1. respiratory alkalosis
  2. 2. metabolic alkalosis
  3. 3. PaCO₂ = 20 mmHg
  4. 4. Osm = 321 mOsm/kg
  5. 5. AGc = 17.5 mmol/L
  6. 6. appropriate compensation

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