Arterial blood gases fail to reflect acid-base status during cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Abstract
The American Heart Association's current standards for CPR indicate that acid-base therapy should be guided by measurements of arterial blood gases. However, we have discovered a striking discrepancy between arterial and venous blood gases during CPR: severe venous hypercarbia and acidosis may coexist with simultaneous arterial alkalosis. Arterial blood gases during CPR, therefore, may not accurately reflect the acidbase status of mixed venous blood and thus may fail to indicate systemic acid-base status.

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