Blood Gas Lab
The asthmatic whose gas 'normalized'
advancedA 24-year-old in a severe asthma attack, two hours in. The repeat gas is 'better than the last one', says the night resident.
Blood gas
pH7.38
PaCO241 mmHg
HCO324 mmol/L
PaO261 mmHg
No high/low cues on purpose: read the numbers the way the gas machine prints them.
Stepwise interpretation
Commit to your own read first: pH, primary process, compensation, gap, delta, oxygenation. Then walk the engine’s steps and see where you agree.