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
pH7.357.457.55PaCO₂mmHg354540HCO₃⁻mmol/L222634respiratorymetabolicacidosisalkalosis

A practice arterial blood gas shows pH 7.55, PaCO₂ 40 mmHg (5.3 kPa) and HCO₃⁻ 34 mmol/L. Which primary disorder is it? Click the cell in the grid.

pH 7.55PaCO₂ 40 mmHg (5.3 kPa)HCO₃⁻ 34 mmol/L
  1. 1respiratory acidosis
  2. 2metabolic acidosis
  3. 3respiratory alkalosis
  4. 4metabolic alkalosis
2.Easy
pH7.357.457.57PaCO₂mmHg354537HCO₃⁻mmol/L222633respiratorymetabolicacidosisalkalosis

A practice arterial blood gas shows pH 7.57, PaCO₂ 37 mmHg (4.9 kPa) and HCO₃⁻ 33 mmol/L. Which primary disorder is it? Click the cell in the grid.

pH 7.57PaCO₂ 37 mmHg (4.9 kPa)HCO₃⁻ 33 mmol/L
  1. 1respiratory acidosis
  2. 2metabolic acidosis
  3. 3respiratory alkalosis
  4. 4metabolic alkalosis
3.Medium
pH7.357.457.51PaCO₂mmHg354550HCO₃⁻mmol/L222639uncompensatedpartially compensatedfully compensated

A practice arterial blood gas shows pH 7.51, PaCO₂ 50 mmHg (6.7 kPa) and HCO₃⁻ 39 mmol/L. The primary disorder is metabolic alkalosis. How far is it compensated? Click your answer.

pH 7.51PaCO₂ 50 mmHg (6.7 kPa)HCO₃⁻ 39 mmol/L
  1. 1uncompensated
  2. 2partially compensated
  3. 3fully compensated
4.Medium

A practice gas shows PaCO₂ 21 mmHg (2.8 kPa). Use the rule that in chronic respiratory alkalosis HCO₃⁻ falls by 5 mmol/L for every 10 mmHg that PaCO₂ is below 40, starting from HCO₃⁻ 24 mmol/L, to find the expected HCO₃⁻.

PaCO₂ 21 mmHg (2.8 kPa)baseline: 40 mmHg, 24 mmol/L
HCO₃⁻ = mmol/L
5.Hard
pH7.357.457.32PaCO₂mmHg354534HCO₃⁻mmol/L222617appropriate compensationadded respiratory acidosisadded respiratory alkalosis

A practice gas shows a metabolic acidosis: pH 7.32, PaCO₂ 34 mmHg (4.5 kPa), HCO₃⁻ 17 mmol/L. Compare the measured PaCO₂ with Winter’s formula. Click your interpretation.

pH 7.32PaCO₂ 34 mmHg (4.5 kPa)HCO₃⁻ 17 mmol/L
  1. 1appropriate compensation
  2. 2added respiratory acidosis
  3. 3added respiratory alkalosis
6.Hard
pH7.357.457.30PaCO₂mmHg354582HCO₃⁻mmol/L222639acutechronicacute on chronic

A practice gas shows a respiratory acidosis: pH 7.30, PaCO₂ 82 mmHg (10.9 kPa), HCO₃⁻ 39 mmol/L. Use the rules ‘HCO₃⁻ rises 1 mmol/L per 10 mmHg (acute) or 3.5 mmol/L per 10 mmHg (chronic)’ to classify it. Click your answer.

pH 7.30PaCO₂ 82 mmHg (10.9 kPa)HCO₃⁻ 39 mmol/L
  1. 1acute
  2. 2chronic
  3. 3acute on chronic

Answer key

  1. 1. metabolic alkalosis
  2. 2. metabolic alkalosis
  3. 3. partially compensated
  4. 4. HCO₃⁻ = 14.5 mmol/L
  5. 5. appropriate compensation
  6. 6. chronic

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