A gas is never read alone — the same four numbers mean opposite things in a comfortable COPD patient and in an asthmatic breathing 34 times a minute. Type a gas or load one of the chapter’s patterns, set the clinical context, and watch the three-step reasoning, the compensation status and the nursing action change with it.
Load a pattern from the chapter
The four numbers
Normal 7.35–7.45
Normal 35–45
mmHg
Normal 22–26
mEq/L
Normal 80–100
mmHg
Who is this patient?
What does the effort look like right now?
The three steps, every time. 1 — Is the pH acidotic, alkalotic or normal? 2 — Which value moves in the direction that would explain that pH? 3 — Has the other system compensated? If the pH is back in range while both PaCO2 and HCO3− are abnormal, compensation is complete.