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
pH7.357.457.61PaCO₂mmHg354525HCO₃⁻mmol/L222624respiratorymetabolicacidosisalkalosis

A practice arterial blood gas shows pH 7.61, PaCO₂ 25 mmHg (3.3 kPa) and HCO₃⁻ 24 mmol/L. Which primary disorder is it? Click the cell in the grid.

pH 7.61PaCO₂ 25 mmHg (3.3 kPa)HCO₃⁻ 24 mmol/L
  1. 1respiratory acidosis
  2. 2metabolic acidosis
  3. 3respiratory alkalosis
  4. 4metabolic alkalosis
2.Easy
pH7.357.457.52PaCO₂mmHg354523HCO₃⁻mmol/L222618respiratorymetabolicacidosisalkalosis

A practice arterial blood gas shows pH 7.52, PaCO₂ 23 mmHg (3.1 kPa) and HCO₃⁻ 18 mmol/L. Which primary disorder is it? Click the cell in the grid.

pH 7.52PaCO₂ 23 mmHg (3.1 kPa)HCO₃⁻ 18 mmol/L
  1. 1respiratory acidosis
  2. 2metabolic acidosis
  3. 3respiratory alkalosis
  4. 4metabolic alkalosis
3.Medium
pH7.357.457.15PaCO₂mmHg354539HCO₃⁻mmol/L222613uncompensatedpartially compensatedfully compensated

A practice arterial blood gas shows pH 7.15, PaCO₂ 39 mmHg (5.2 kPa) and HCO₃⁻ 13 mmol/L. The primary disorder is metabolic acidosis. How far is it compensated? Click your answer.

pH 7.15PaCO₂ 39 mmHg (5.2 kPa)HCO₃⁻ 13 mmol/L
  1. 1uncompensated
  2. 2partially compensated
  3. 3fully compensated
4.Medium

Practice values: Na⁺ 147 mmol/L, glucose 16.3 mmol/L and urea 7.3 mmol/L. Calculate the serum osmolality Osm = 2·Na⁺ + glucose + urea to the nearest whole number.

Na⁺ 147 mmol/Lglucose 16.3 mmol/Lurea 7.3 mmol/L
Osm = mOsm/kg
5.Hard
pH7.357.457.23PaCO₂mmHg354522HCO₃⁻mmol/L22269appropriate compensationadded respiratory acidosisadded respiratory alkalosis

A practice gas shows a metabolic acidosis: pH 7.23, PaCO₂ 22 mmHg (2.9 kPa), HCO₃⁻ 9 mmol/L. Compare the measured PaCO₂ with Winter’s formula. Click your interpretation.

pH 7.23PaCO₂ 22 mmHg (2.9 kPa)HCO₃⁻ 9 mmol/L
  1. 1appropriate compensation
  2. 2added respiratory acidosis
  3. 3added respiratory alkalosis
6.Hard

Practice values: Na⁺ 143, Cl⁻ 112, HCO₃⁻ 16 mmol/L and albumin 36 g/L. Find the albumin-corrected anion gap AGc = AG + 0.25·(40 − albumin).

Na⁺ 143 mmol/LCl⁻ 112 mmol/LHCO₃⁻ 16 mmol/Lalbumin 36 g/L
AGc = mmol/L

Answer key

  1. 1. respiratory alkalosis
  2. 2. respiratory alkalosis
  3. 3. uncompensated
  4. 4. Osm = 318 mOsm/kg
  5. 5. appropriate compensation
  6. 6. AGc = 16 mmol/L

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