Blood Gas of the Week #27
A 14 year, spayed female mix-breed cat is presented for episodes of collapse. The episodes do not seem to be associated with any particular activity or time of day and were first noticed 3 days ago. The first few times the episodes were observed the owners describe the cat appearing suddenly weak, sitting down hard, and panting. These episodes have resolved in less than 60 seconds. Just prior to presentation the cat had a more disturbing (to the owners) event where she vocalized, fell over in lateral recumbency, panted heavily, and urinated on herself. She was still panting after 5 minutes prompting presentation. On examination the cat is thin, has a loud systolic murmur, gallop arrhythmia, and occasional pulse deficits. The remainder of the examination is unremarkable.
T 98.3 P 190 R 38 mm pink CRT 1.5s BCS 3/9 Weight 2.7kg BP 182/96 (123mmHg)
Interpret the blood gas:
Step 1: Evaluate the pH
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Step 2: Determine the primary process
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Step 3: Name the process
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Want to learn about reading blood gases? You’ve come to the right place. Every week a new blood gas case will be posted. The scenario will post on Monday and the solution will post on Wednesday.
New to blood gasses? Check out the quick guide to acid-base interpretation here.