7. Conclusion

Arterial blood gas analysis test is one of the most commonly employed point-ofcare testings in intensive care units, yet the understanding of acid-base disturbances and interpretation of ABG reports are sometimes a challenging task especially for critically ill patients with multiorgan failure. The graphical relationship between the metabolic and respiratory components of the net changes in pH and the total changes in hydrogen ion concentration with other ABG parameters like standard base excess, bicarbonate, standard bicarbonate, and pCO2 will help in better understanding of the arterial blood gas interpretation which results in proper, quicker, and better management of the patient's critical conditions. A newer graphical tool developed using standard base excess and the ratio of (HCO3 standard HCO3)/ H2CO3 may help in easier and quicker interpretation of ABG reports. This simple four-quadrant graph method may provide a rough guide for ABG interpretation, which, when applied at the appropriate time, results in timely management.

Although, standard bicarbonate value is not routinely utilized for ABG interpretation, the parameters derived from standard bicarbonate plays a vital role in the understanding of acid-base disturbances. The application of these newly derived parameters and the four-quadrant graphical tool may serve as a supporting tool for teaching and diagnostic purposes, which when properly correlated with clinical conditions and other ABG parameters results in better understanding and quicker interpretation of ABG reports.

## Conflict of interest

Nil.

#### Author details

T. Rajini Samuel Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth Deemed to be University, Kancheepuram District, Tamilnadu, India

\*Address all correspondence to: samuel.biochemistry@gmail.com; samuel.rajini@ gmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Who Is Balancing: Is It RBC or Acid-Base Status? DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84768
