med 610 clinical respiratory diseases & critcare med

Arterial Blood Gas

Case 7

A 57 year-old woman presents with 2 days of fevers, dyspnea and a cough productive of rust-colored sputum. Her room air oxygen saturation in the emergency room is found to be 85% and the intern decides to obtain a room air arterial blood gas while they are waiting for the chest x-ray to be done. The blood gas reveals:

  • pH 7.54,
  • PCO2 25,
  • PO2 65,
  • HCO3- 22,
  • Base excess -1

Acid-base status:

Alveolar-arterial oxygen difference:

Explanation for the clinical picture:

Return to Case Index | Go to Case 7 answers

Top of Page