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
pH7.357.457.25PaCO₂mmHg354557HCO₃⁻mmol/L222624respiratorymetabolicacidosisalkalosis

A practice arterial blood gas shows pH 7.25, PaCO₂ 57 mmHg (7.6 kPa) and HCO₃⁻ 24 mmol/L. Which primary disorder is it? Click the cell in the grid.

pH 7.25PaCO₂ 57 mmHg (7.6 kPa)HCO₃⁻ 24 mmol/L
  1. 1respiratory acidosis
  2. 2metabolic acidosis
  3. 3respiratory alkalosis
  4. 4metabolic alkalosis
2.Easy
pH7.357.457.55PaCO₂mmHg354520HCO₃⁻mmol/L222617respiratorymetabolicacidosisalkalosis

A practice arterial blood gas shows pH 7.55, PaCO₂ 20 mmHg (2.7 kPa) and HCO₃⁻ 17 mmol/L. Which primary disorder is it? Click the cell in the grid.

pH 7.55PaCO₂ 20 mmHg (2.7 kPa)HCO₃⁻ 17 mmol/L
  1. 1respiratory acidosis
  2. 2metabolic acidosis
  3. 3respiratory alkalosis
  4. 4metabolic alkalosis
3.Medium

Practice values: Na⁺ 129 mmol/L, glucose 27.7 mmol/L and urea 10.4 mmol/L. Calculate the serum osmolality Osm = 2·Na⁺ + glucose + urea to the nearest whole number.

Na⁺ 129 mmol/Lglucose 27.7 mmol/Lurea 10.4 mmol/L
Osm = mOsm/kg
4.Medium

A practice gas shows a metabolic acidosis with HCO₃⁻ 10 mmol/L. Use Winter’s formula to find the expected PaCO₂ (the centre of the range) in mmHg.

HCO₃⁻ 10 mmol/L
PaCO₂ = mmHg
5.Hard

Practice values: Na⁺ 139, Cl⁻ 90 and HCO₃⁻ 15 mmol/L. Calculate the delta ratio (AG − 12)/(24 − HCO₃⁻), using AG = Na⁺ − (Cl⁻ + HCO₃⁻). Give two decimals.

Na⁺ 139 mmol/LCl⁻ 90 mmol/LHCO₃⁻ 15 mmol/L
delta ratio =
6.Hard

Practice values: Na⁺ 144, Cl⁻ 115, HCO₃⁻ 14 mmol/L and albumin 32 g/L. Find the albumin-corrected anion gap AGc = AG + 0.25·(40 − albumin).

Na⁺ 144 mmol/LCl⁻ 115 mmol/LHCO₃⁻ 14 mmol/Lalbumin 32 g/L
AGc = mmol/L

Answer key

  1. 1. respiratory acidosis
  2. 2. respiratory alkalosis
  3. 3. Osm = 296 mOsm/kg
  4. 4. PaCO₂ = 23 mmHg
  5. 5. delta ratio = 2.444
  6. 6. AGc = 17 mmol/L

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