ABG Interpretation Walkthrough
Arterial blood gas interpretation: primary acid-base disorder from pH / PaCO2 / HCO3 with the expected-compensation note (Winter formula, Boston rules); optional PaO2 + FiO2 adds the A-a gradient and P/F ratio.
Open the calculator → Runs in your browser. Data leaves only if you deliberately send a problem report from the interactive tool.
Example
- Arterial pH
- 7.30
- PaCO2
- 30 mmHg
- HCO3
- 14 mEq/L
Result: Metabolic acidosis with appropriate respiratory compensation
The tool opens with these values already filled in. Replace them with your own.
What you enter
- Arterial pH
- PaCO2
- HCO3
- PaO2 (optional, enables oxygenation indices)
- FiO2 (0-1, optional, enables oxygenation indices)
What this is
Walk a blood-gas tuple (pH, PaCO2, HCO3, and optionally PaO2 / FiO2) through the standard acid-base interpretation: primary disorder, expected respiratory or metabolic compensation, anion gap and delta-delta where labs allow, and ARDS Berlin P/F band when oxygenation values are supplied. Sophie Well returns each step explicitly so the reader can audit the logic.
When to use it
Use this at the bedside when a gas comes back and you need a structured walk-through before the team rounds, or as a teaching aid when training residents and students on acid-base. The output is interpretive math, not a treatment plan; mixed disorders, contributing drugs, and the clinical picture still drive the actual response.
How this is calculated
Winter formula (metabolic) and Boston rules for expected compensation: Narins RG, Emmett M. Medicine (Baltimore). 1980;59(3):161-187. P/F bands: ARDS Definition Task Force. Acute respiratory distress syndrome: the Berlin Definition. JAMA. 2012;307(23):2526-2533. Read the sources: Narins 1980 (compensation rules) ↗, ARDS Berlin Definition 2012 ↗
A reference and educational tool. Not medical, legal, or financial advice, and not a substitute for clinician judgment.
More in Nephrology and acid-base.