Several formulas are available for adjusting a blood gas pCO2 determined at 37 °C for a patient's body temperature. For elevated body temperatures the pCO2 is increased; for reduced body temperatures the pCO2 is decreased.
corrected pCO2 =
= (measured pCO2) * (10^ ( X * ((patient temperature in °C) - 37)))
where
• X = 0.021 for the Radiometer ABL-3
• X = 0.019 for the Corning and Instrumentation Laboratory (IL) instruments
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