Blood Acid-Base Alignment Nomogram: Scales for pH, pCO₂, Base Excess of Whole Blood of Different Hemoglobin Concentrations, Plasma Bicarbonate, and Plasma Total-CO₂

Abstract

The blood acid-base status comprises the pH, pCO2 and base excess values.The alignment nomogram includes scales for these values together with scales for bicarbonate and total-CO2 of plasma.The nomogram is especially useful for calculation of base excess after direct measurement of pH, pCO2 and hemoglobin concentration. The nomogram is also useful for calculation of both pCO2 and base excess after direct measurement of pH, total-CO2 of plasma and hemoglobin concentration.The standard bicarbonate can also be calculated from the nomogram.