Medical College of Wisconsin
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Biological variation of blood acid-base status: consequences for analytical goal-setting and interpretation of results. Clin Chem 1987 Aug;33(8):1416-8

Date

08/01/1987

Pubmed ID

3111750

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-0023621515 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   11 Citations

Abstract

Analytical, intra-individual, and interindividual components of variation have been determined for pH, pCO2, bicarbonate, base excess, and total CO2 in capillary specimens of whole blood from a cohort of 14 healthy subjects. Calculated analytical goals (SD) are pH less than or equal to 0.008, pCO2 less than or equal to 0.9 mmHg, bicarbonate less than or equal to 0.5 mmol/L, base excess less than or equal to 0.5 mmol/L, and total CO2 less than or equal to 0.5 mmol/L. Because pH and base excess vary little between individuals, population-based reference values for them will be of utility in interpretation of results; pCO2, bicarbonate, and total CO2 show more marked variation between individuals, and reference values for them will be of more limited use. The generally applicable differences required for two results to be significantly different (P less than or equal to 0.05) when goals are met--which is currently feasible--are pH: 0.04, pCO2: 0.745 kPa (5.6 mmHg), bicarbonate: 2.6 mmol/L, base excess: 2.2 mmol/L, and total CO2: 2.7 mmol/L.

Author List

Harding PJ, Fraser CG

Author

Renren Wen PhD Adjunct Associate Professor in the Microbiology and Immunology department at Medical College of Wisconsin




MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adult
Bicarbonates
Blood Chemical Analysis
Carbon Dioxide
Female
Humans
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Male
Reference Values
Statistics as Topic