{"title":"Mastering blood gas interpretation: A practical guide for primary care providers.","authors":"Talat Habib, Arun Nair, Shane Murphy, Hamid Saeed, Nyitiba Ishaya","doi":"10.4102/safp.v67i1.6058","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Accurate arterial blood gas (ABG) interpretation is essential for primary care providers (PCPs), especially in emergency and inpatient settings where timely, informed decisions can significantly impact patient outcomes. This review guides PCPs from basic to advanced interpretation through a systematic five-step approach for ABG analysis, focussing on oxygenation, pH status, and metabolic and respiratory disorders. Emphasising the recognition of complex acid-base disorders that may coexist even when pH appears normal, it incorporates tools such as delta and osmolar gap calculations to address multiple concurrent metabolic disturbances and clarify the interpretation of mixed acid-base conditions. The article also briefly considers the use of arterial and venous blood samples in clinical practice.</p>","PeriodicalId":22040,"journal":{"name":"South African Family Practice","volume":"67 1","pages":"e1-e7"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12067511/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"South African Family Practice","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.4102/safp.v67i1.6058","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Accurate arterial blood gas (ABG) interpretation is essential for primary care providers (PCPs), especially in emergency and inpatient settings where timely, informed decisions can significantly impact patient outcomes. This review guides PCPs from basic to advanced interpretation through a systematic five-step approach for ABG analysis, focussing on oxygenation, pH status, and metabolic and respiratory disorders. Emphasising the recognition of complex acid-base disorders that may coexist even when pH appears normal, it incorporates tools such as delta and osmolar gap calculations to address multiple concurrent metabolic disturbances and clarify the interpretation of mixed acid-base conditions. The article also briefly considers the use of arterial and venous blood samples in clinical practice.
期刊介绍:
South African Family Practice (SAFP) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal, which strives to provide primary care physicians and researchers with a broad range of scholarly work in the disciplines of Family Medicine, Primary Health Care, Rural Medicine, District Health and other related fields. SAFP publishes original research, clinical reviews, and pertinent commentary that advance the knowledge base of these disciplines. The content of SAFP is designed to reflect and support further development of the broad basis of these disciplines through original research and critical review of evidence in important clinical areas; as well as to provide practitioners with continuing professional development material.