Diabetes-related ketoacidosis (DKA): This is a serious and life-threatening complication that affects people with diabetes (mainly Type 1 diabetes) and those who have undiagnosed Type 1 diabetes.Hypovolemic shock: Hypovolemic shock is an emergency condition in which severe blood loss or other fluid loss makes your heart unable to pump enough blood to your body.Septic shock: Septic shock is a life-threatening condition that happens when your blood pressure drops to a dangerously low level after an infection.Sepsis is the consequence of widespread inflammation in your body. Severe sepsis: Sepsis is a medical emergency caused by your body's response to an infection and can be life-threatening.It’s caused by sepsis, COVID-19 and other conditions.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS): This is a life-threatening lung injury that causes dangerously low oxygen levels in your blood.Healthcare providers evaluate several conditions using an ABG, including: Pulmonology: Pulmonology is the area of medicine that deals with diseases involving your respiratory system.It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicine and pain medicine. Anesthesiology: Anesthesiology is the area of medicine that’s concerned with the care of people before, during and after surgery.Emergency medicine: Emergency medicine is the area of medicine that’s concerned with the care of illnesses or injuries requiring immediate medical attention.Healthcare providers frequently order arterial blood gas (ABG) tests for the following settings or areas of medicine: When is an arterial blood gas (ABG) test performed? Bicarbonate (HCO3): This is calculated using the measured values of pH and PaCO2 to determine the amount of the basic compound made from carbon dioxide (CO2.).If it’s higher than that range, your blood is considered too basic (alkaline). If it’s lower than that, your blood is considered too acidic. The pH of blood is usually between 7.35 and 7.45. pH: This measures the balance of acids and bases in your blood, known as your blood pH level.Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2): This measures the amount of carbon dioxide in your blood and how well carbon dioxide can move out of your body.It helps show how well oxygen moves from your lungs to your bloodstream. Partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2): This measures the pressure of oxygen dissolved in your blood.Hemoglobin is a protein in your red blood cells that carries oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body. Oxygen saturation (O2Sat): This measures how much hemoglobin in your blood is carrying oxygen.Hemoglobin: This measures the amount of hemoglobin, the protein responsible for carrying oxygen to your cells, in your blood.Oxygen content (O2CT): This measures the amount of oxygen in your blood.What is measured in an arterial blood gas test?Īn arterial blood gas test usually includes the following measurements: Other common names for an arterial blood gas test include: An arterial blood gas (ABG) test only tests a blood sample from an artery in your body. There’s also a test known as a 'blood gas analysis,' which uses a sample of blood from anywhere in your circulatory system (artery, vein or capillary). Your body normally tightly regulates the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your blood, because low blood oxygen levels ( hypoxemia) can lead to many serious conditions and damage to individual organ systems, especially your brain and heart.Īrterial blood gas tests can help healthcare providers interpret conditions that affect your respiratory system, circulatory system and metabolic processes (how your body transforms the food you eat into energy), especially in emergency situations.

The test also checks the balance of acids and bases, known as the pH balance, in your blood. What is an arterial blood gas (ABG) test?Īn arterial blood gas (ABG) test is a blood test that requires a sample from an artery in your body to measure the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your blood. An arterial blood gas (ABG) test measures the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your blood as well as the pH balance in your blood.

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