An arterial sample for blood gas analysis was collected in a glass syringe and sent to the lab...
Question:
An arterial sample for blood gas analysis was collected in a glass syringe and sent to the lab immediately. The observant Clinical Laboratory Scientist noted that there was an air bubble in the syringe and the cap was not on the end of the syringe tightly. What relative effect (increase, decrease, or no change) would this handling of the sample have on the pH, pCO{eq}_2 {/eq}, and pO{eq}_2 {/eq} values? If they changed, what caused these changes?
Blood:
Blood is the main carrier of substances in our body, especially blood is the main medium to transport oxygen. Blood contains several components; haemoglobin is the red colouring pigment for blood.
Answer and Explanation: 1
Clinical test of blood
The interaction of air bubbles in the syringe with the blood results in specific changes in the partial pressure of oxygen and carbondioxide.
- partial pressure of oxygen will increases slightly because of the interaction of air with blood components in syringe
- partial pressure of carbondioxide decreases with the air bubbles in most cases.
- there is no such effect for pH in the presence of air bubbles.
Similar in the case of an open system, when the cap at the end was not tight. But it will vary according to time and the number of air bubbles in it.
Learn more about this topic:
from
Chapter 13 / Lesson 5Blood types are determined by antigens found in red blood cells. Learn about the blood types, red blood cell antigens, agglutination, the ABO system, the blood groups, and the definitions of universal donor and universal recipient blood types.