To see how to perform an arterial blood gas check out our guide here. These disorders are termed complex acidbase or mixed disorders. Tic tac toe method arterial blood gas abg interpretation. Pdf arterial blood gas analysis is a common investigation in emergency. Jan 16, 2019 steps in abg analysis using the tictactoe method. If not, be sure to get the 63 must know lab values sheet from. Cbc complete blood count hematocrit wbc platelets hgb hct bmp fishbone diagram explaining labs from the blood book theses are the labs you should know hyponatremia sodium lab value blood hyponatremia mnemonic nursing student this is a collection o.
Arterial blood gases values normal ranges and procedure. The information in this video is a general compilation of different nursing books. Its possible to have more than one disorder influencing blood gas values. Laboratory signs of sepsis lippincott nursingcenter. Hco 3 to decide whether compensatory mechanisms are at work once the acidbase disorder is identified as respiratory or metabolic, we must look for the degree of compensation that may or may not be occurring. An arterial blood gas requires the nurse to collect a small sample of blood generally, a full 1 ml. Small world because i ran into a student nurse at my job who said she had subscribed and kept requesting for an abg video. This video is not intended to replace information you have obtained from school or your facility. Although the reports we receive often indicate high or low values, understanding the true meaning of these values in the context of the patients condition, history and other factors is critical to safe care of the patient. When the results of an abg are abnormal, most hospitals today will have a lab procedure for notification of the md or to the icu. In addition, the excessive muscle use associated with asthma can, when combined with respiratory fatigue, lead to an elevated level. Interpreting abgs in four easy steps continuing education credit. In order to easily solve arterial blood gas problems, the tic tac toe or r.
Nearly every single shift youll have to note, record, and assess a whole lot of data generated by your patients. This article displays normal ranges for key lab values and diagnostic tests. The real value of an abg comes from its ability to provide a nearimmediate reflection of the physiology of your patient, allowing you to recognise and treat pathology more rapidly. Apr 20, 2020 arterial blood gasses, or abgs, may be among the most complex and confusing parts of nursing practice. High dose albuterol a beta2 adrenergic can cause an elevated lactate. An arterial blood gas abg specifically tests blood taken from an. Feb 25, 2020 use the drop down menu below to jump to a specific section. Nursing students need to check out this ultimate beginners guide to arterial blood gases. Im a second generation porters user, but there are quite a few good ones around. Arterial blood gasses, or abgs, may be among the most complex and confusing parts of nursing practice. In order to easily solve arterial blood gas problems, the tic tac toe method is the best way for doing this. When we had to learn the lab values for classes, i was given a different set for each class.
An abg is the most accurate representation of a patients clinical status and correct interpretation can lead to quicker and more accurate changes in the. This card gives you the common lab values including hematology, coagulation, blood gas, chemistries, and cardiac values. Abg interpretation a guide to understanding abgs geeky. The normal values noted herecalled a recommendation rangeare just a guide. As you prepare for your licensure exam, there are many nclex lab values you. In addition, you will be tested on if the disorder is partially compensated or uncompensated based on the lab values. Abg interpretation payhip in 2020 emergency nursing. Reasons for an elevated lactate straight a nursing. The lab values youre going to see here are a high ph, obviously indicating alkalosis, and a low paco2. This information is crucial to their health and care, and knowing how to record, manage, and interpret this data will be a big part of your career. Easy way on how to interpret arterial blood gases abgs with tic tac toe. Theres always the fear of messing things up and not being able to meet the patients health needs. Sometimes abgs can be very intimidating because there are a lot of values to look at, but hopefully this will help to. Abgs will also indicate other important facts about a patients status.
However, its a crucial skill for nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists, and nursing students to learn. There are eight 8 steps simple steps you need to know if you want to interpret abg results using the tictactoe technique. Learn most common nursing lab values with free interactive flashcards. Laboratory tests interpretation nurses learning network. Knowing the lab values by heart can lead to success in the nclex exam. I just learned the ones in the back of the medsurg book. See more ideas about lab values, nursing labs and nursing tips. Arterial blood gas abg interpretation for medical students, osces and mrcp paces this section presents how to interpret arterial blood gases. Included in this section are the lab values and nursing considerations for glycosylated hemoglobin, fasting blood sugar, glucose tolerance test, and diabetes mellitus antibody panel. Identify laboratory values for abgs ph, po2, pco2, sao2, hco3, bun, cholesterol total glucose, hematocrit, hemoglobin, glycosylated. Choose from 6 different sets of abg nclex flashcards on quizlet.
Arterial blood gases abg can be difficult and confusing to understand at first. Happy studying, and see you with more nclex study tips soon. We know this is a lot of nclex lab values, but you need to know them to be a nurse and to pass the nclex. Arterial blood gas abgs interpretation for nursing students and nurses. Short educational modules for nurses in arterial blood gas analysis can have significant impact on improving the knowledge of the nurse. Arterial blood gases abgs lab and diagnostic procedure. Nov 23, 2009 this is the book my school recommended. Learn abg nursing with free interactive flashcards. An abg laboratory out of compliance risks loss of laboratory accreditation and closure, which can negatively affect a hospitals service and. Mar 11, 2017 patients with sepsis can present in a variety of ways making sepsis very difficult to diagnose. Get more indepth on laboratory values for nurses with this book.
Abg tests are used to evaluate respiratory and kidney functions and. Arterial blood gases abgs is a diagnostic test performed on blood taken from an artery that provides a glimpse of how much oxygen and carbon dioxide are in your blood, along with your bloods ph level. Use this handy cheatsheet to help you monitor laboratory values related to fluid and electrolyte status. Arterial blood gases abgs critical lab values medical. Aug 28, 2012 small world because i ran into a student nurse at my job who said she had subscribed and kept requesting for an abg video. Patients with sepsis can present in a variety of ways making sepsis very difficult to diagnose. Jan 11, 2018 getting familiar with and interpreting laboratory values can be intimidating, particularly to new nurses. In this section of the nclexrn examination, you will be expected to demonstrate your knowledge and skills of laboratory values in order to.
Orlando health is an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the florida board of nursing provider no. A study conducted in illinois at freeport health network memorial hospital and swedish american hospital demonstrated that a computerbased module helped nurses to learn abg interpretation. While its always possible, its relatively rare to see a significant hypoxemia with respiratory alkalosis, because it usually means the patient is breathing really fast or deep. Badgeguru set by tribe rn 26 nursing badge reference cards ekg, vitals, lab values etc. Com is presenting a series of courses on lab values.
Evaluation of labs by nursing staff is a critical function. However, the two functions above are the most important. Arterial blood gas abg interpretation for medical students. Critical value reporting turnaround time tat in general, all reporting of abg critical values occurs within 15. In addition, the excessive muscle use associated with asthma can, when combined with respiratory fatigue, lead to. Aug 28, 2006 several posts have stated to memorize lab values. If you want to put your abg interpretation skills to the test, check out our abg quiz. Fortunately, there are some easy ways to remember how to decipher these important lab results. How to draw up the blood and how to interpret acidbase imbalances. Lippincott nursingcenter nursing pocket card arterial blood gas. Interpret the results of various arterial blood gas samples. Elsevier is a leading publisher of health science books and journals, helping to advance medicine by delivering superior education, reference information and decision support tools to doctors, nurses, health practitioners and students.
Get the laboratory values for nurses at your fingertips. The radial artery on the wrist is most commonly used to obtain the sample. I was chatting with some nursing students recently and asked what their most challenging subjects have been so farsomeone piped in and said that abgs were a real pain in the neck and no wonder. See more ideas about lab values, nursing tips and nursing students. Everyone can read an electrolyte level, but when faced with a list of abgs, most nurses wilt. First, we need to lay the foundation and talk about what three lab values you need to look at when trying to figure out abgs, how to determine if that value is consider normal, an acid, or basic alkalotic, and what fancy terms are used once the abg is figured out. Interpreting abgs arterial blood gases made easy ausmed. Arterial blood gases abgs critical lab values medical estudy. Identify the relationship between oxygen saturation and pao2 as it relates to the oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve. Choose from 464 different sets of abg nursing flashcards on quizlet. Understanding the normal laboratory values of blood glucose is an essential key in managing diabetes mellitus. Familiarizing and interpreting laboratory values for nurses dont always have to feel that way.
Small hospital department managers who also run an abg laboratory can follow this stepbystep guide for bringing the lab under compliance with state and national regulations. Use the drop down menu below to jump to a specific section. Hi, i was doing the saunders practice questions for the nclex. In addition to the parameters outlined in the sofa score hypoxemia, blood pressure. Fishbone cheat sheet mnemonic nursing student this is a sheet from my acuute book. Ph, co2, hco3 and how to understand and interpret arterial blood gas values in this abg course. Naturally, i know to learn rbc, wbc, platelets, and normal abg chemistries values but im wondering what other of the hundreds.
Abgs provide information about acidbase balance and the levels of o2 and co2 in the blood. Your lab might have a different variety for whats normal. Abg results may indicate decreased o2 levels hypoxia, decreased or increased co2 levels hypo or hypercapnia, acidosis decreased ph, alkalosis increased ph. Fbn 2459 and the north carolina nurses association, an accredited. Here is the easiest way to interpret abg results using the tic tac toe method. Sometimes abgs can be very intimidating because there are a lot of values to look at, but hopefully this will help to kind of demystify it for you. This abg practice quiz has 10 questions that will test your knowledge about metabolic and respiratory disorders. Lab values vertical badge id card pocket reference guide. Choose from 278 different sets of most common nursing lab values flashcards on quizlet. In a clinical situation, most nurses need only to understand these two basic concepts. Blood gas analysis is a commonly used diagnostic tool to evaluate. Arterial blood gases or abgs are the most accurate representation of a. If you are unfamiliar with the tic tac toe method for abgs to read the recommended article to learn how to do it. This book is distributed under the terms of the creative commons.
There are several great pocketbooks of critical care andor emergency nursing that contain lab values, acls algorithms, rsi, rhythm interpretation, etc. Understand how the test works, how to administer one, and how you can use it in. Clinicians are now encouraged to use tools, such as the sequential sepsisrelated organ failure assessment score sofa, to assist in screening for septic patients. Critical value reporting turnaround time tat in general, all reporting of abg critical values occurs within 15 minutes. Blood can be drawn via an arterial stick from the wrist, groin, or above the elbow. This book outlines the 63 must know lab values for nurses to help them prepare for the nclex and care for patients on the floor. Click for an easy breakdown of arterial blood gas values abg lab values for nursing school. Post to our facebook page or give us a shout on twitter with comments or requests for specific information youd like to see in the series. The easiest method to interpret abg values, useful for interpreters for deaf students. For example abgs with an alkalemic ph may exhibit respiratory acidosis and metabolic alkalosis. The most important points when assessing a patient are the history, examination and basic observations. Lippincott nursingcenter nursing pocket card arterial. These varieties vary from lab to lab and rely on the elevation above water level.
Arterial blood gases abgs are measured in a laboratory test to determine the. Lippincott nursingcenter quick guide to laboratory values. It explains each component in turn followed by clinical examples to work through. Guide, registered nurse practitioner, laboratory medicine textbooks book 1. Her professor had suggested they just try to memorize the values. As we start our arterial blood gas course, i want to start by helping you understand what is included in an abg and why we use abgs in our patients. Nov 15, 2016 if not, be sure to get the 63 must know lab values sheet from nursing. Abg s will also indicate other important facts about a patients status. Without knowing them, your patient could easily go. Also, it is suggested that the severity of the asthma attack can be correlated to lactate levels. Critical values abgs any abg value marked as outside of normal range will be considered a critical value unless otherwise defined, designated or ordered by the physician. Identify normal arterial blood gas values and interpret the meaning of abnormal values.