Thank you for the concise and clear information, very good posting. I agree with your statement that “In patients with emphysema, I would expect arterial blood gases (ABG) to be abnormal”. The key to making sense of arterial blood gases is to use a structured approach; for instance, ABG measures the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood to see how well the lungs are working. In addition, understanding these results are an essential part of patient care, making patient assessment more informed and patient management more specific. Essentially, arterial blood gases are taken to evaluate the patient’s: oxygenation, ventilation, and acid base balance. For example, the oxygen partial pressure (PaO2), the measurement of oxygen dissolved
