Pulmonary Shunt Fraction (Qs/Qt)

Pulmonary shunt fraction Qs/Qt (Berggren 1942): from hemoglobin and the alveolar, arterial, and mixed-venous O₂ saturations and tensions, the fraction of cardiac output bypassing gas exchange; normal ~4–10%.

Open the calculator → Runs in your browser. Data leaves only if you deliberately send a problem report from the interactive tool.

Example

Hemoglobin
15 g/dL
Alveolar / end-capillary O₂ tension
110 mmHg
Arterial SaO₂
99 %
Arterial PaO₂
95 mmHg
Mixed-venous SvO₂
75 %
Mixed-venous PvO₂
40 mmHg

Result: Shunt fraction 4.7% — within the ~4–10% normal range.

The tool opens with these values already filled in. Replace them with your own.

What the result means

Reference
Normal ~4–10%; rising with true shunt.

What you enter

  • Hemoglobin
  • Alveolar / end-capillary O₂ tension
  • Arterial SaO₂
  • Arterial PaO₂
  • Mixed-venous SvO₂
  • Mixed-venous PvO₂
How this is calculated
Formula
CxO₂ = 1.34 × Hb × SxO₂ + 0.0031 × PxO₂ (end-capillary saturation 100%); Qs/Qt = (CcO₂ − CaO₂) / (CcO₂ − CvO₂).

Berggren SM. The oxygen deficit of arterial blood caused by non-ventilating parts of the lung. Acta Physiol Scand. 1942;4(Suppl 11):1-92. Restated in Nunn’s Applied Respiratory Physiology (Lumb AB, ed.). Search PubMed for this source ↗

A reference and educational tool. Not medical, legal, or financial advice, and not a substitute for clinician judgment.

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Built by Clay Good. Source on GitHub.