ABGs Flashcards
Allens Test purpose
check for secondary or collateral blood flow
For an adult, what size needle?
22-25 G
Time frame for sample to be on ice?
Cannot exceed 30 min
Purpose of ABG
How well oxygen is getting into your body
**this is how to explain it to pt
What 3 things do blood gas analyzers MEASURE
pH, pCO2, PO2
Blood gas analyzer calculates what?
Hb saturation/BiCarb/BE (base excess)
What is used to measure pH in a blood gas example
Sanz electrode
PO2 is measured by what in a blood gas example
Clark polarographic electrode
What in vivo mean?
analyzing it inside the artery
in vitro
removing blood then analyzing it outside the body (lab)
Levey-jennings chart
Helps follow quality control
systematic errors look like what?
theres a trend on the graph that changes gradually or abruptly (shift)
What two things do ABGs reflect?
adequacy of oxygenation/adequacy of ventilation
The ABGs reflect oxygenation and ventilation. Which values reflect them?
PaO2 reflects oxygenation while PaCO2 reflects ventilation and ability to ventilate without assistance
Which values of the ABGs are considered “respiratory values”?
PaO2 and PaCO2
Which values of ABGs represent the “metabolic values”?
HCO3 and BE
Base/acid on pH scale
pH goes up the more basic the solution
If you cant use the radial site, then go to brachial, after that what do you do?
Contact the physician
Three reasons you can absolutely not puncture the site?
AV shunt and Negative Allen’s test, thrombolytics
How long to wait to get ABGs for healthy lungs/heart
5-10 min
How long should you wait if someone has unhealthy lungs OR heart?
20 to 30 minutes
3 signs you might have venous blood
SaO2/PaO2 very off, blood doesnt fill syringe the normal way, if blood looks darker
If you have an air bubble , what will happen to the PCO2 and PO2 values?
PCO2 will ALWAYS be lower, and PO2 will move towards 159mmHg.
If you have air in your needle and your blood PO2 is less than 159mmHg, what will happen?
Due to equilibrium, more O2 will diffuse into the blood sample, RAISING the PO2 value
Modified Allens test
this is when you OCCLUDE the arteries, when you only have them pump their fist it is referred to as just ‘Allen’s Test’
Normal PiO2
159mmHg