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ABG Case 4

A 72-year-old COPD patient attends A&E. He is unresponsive on admission and gasping for breath. The paramedics have put him on 2L oxygen via nasal cannula. Your consultant sends him to the resus bay and asks you to take an ABG.

Please interpret the following ABG and suggest a clinical context for this scenario.

                    

pH 7.17 pCO2 7.4 pO2 5.9 HCO3 20 Na 137 Cl- 103 SaO2 80% Lactate 6.2 Base Excess -7.5

Answer