THE ACCURACY OF CAPILLARY SAMPLING FOR ACID-BASE ESTIMATIONS

Abstract
A study has been carried out to investigate the comparative values of capillary and arterial samples when using an Astrup micro-analyzer. The capillary sanples were taken from the lobe of the ear, and arterial samples from the brachial or femoral artery. All samples were analyzed within 15 minutes. If the limits of acceptability for clinical investigation be defined as ±0.025 for pH and ±2.00 for Pco2, and ±0.5 for HCO′3 there is no significant difference in the method of sampling.