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The University of Chicago Medicine Laboratories

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Specimen Collection and Handling

Transfusion

Forms

 

 

 

 

Mayo Clinic Laboratories

Test Code RTVGAS Blood Gases, Venous

Specimen and Container/Tube

Specimen Type: Whole blood 

Preferred Specimen: Heparinized syringe

Other Acceptable Specimens: None

Volume

Preferred Volume: 0.5 mL

Minimum Volume: 0.2 mL

Specimen Stability

Storage Temperature

Stability

Room temperature

30 minutes

Refrigerated

not acceptable

Frozen

not acceptable

Collection Instructions

  • Collect specimen per standard laboratory collection procedures. 
  • Remove all air from syringe. 
  • Remove needle. 
  • Cap tightly and mix well. 

 

Specimen Handling and Transport Instructions

UCMC Onsite Instructions: 

  • Collect specimen per standard collection procedure and send to laboratory immediately. 
  • Testing must be performed within 30 minutes of collection 

UCMC Offsite and UC MedLab Outreach Instructions: 

  • Specimens are not acceptable from offsite locations for blood gas testing 

Rejection Criteria

  • Common specimen rejected situations include: incorrect specimen type, insufficient volume, missing or incomplete specimen identifiers, incorrect specimen transport, or specimens outside stability limits. 
  • Specimens with needles attached will be rejected. 
  • Specimens with air bubbles. 

Reference Values

Analyte

Age

Sex

Normal Range

pH

All

All

7.33 – 7.43

pCO2, venous

All

All

40 – 50 mmHg

pO2, venous

All

All

30 – 40 mmHg

HCO3, venous

All

All

22 – 29 mmol/L

Base excess, venous

All

All

-3.0 – 3.0 mmol/L

SVO2

All

All

60 – 80%

Hemoglobin, venous

All

All

12.0 – 18.0 g/dL

Oxyhemoglobin, Venous

All

All

58 – 79%

Carboxyhemoglobin, venous

All

All

≤3.0%

Methemoglobin, venous

All

All

≤2.0%

Deoxyhemoglobin, venous

All

All

20.0 – 38.0%

Critical Values

Analyte

Age

Low

High

pH, venous

All

<7.20

>7.60

pCO2, venous

All

<20 mmHg

>80 mmHg

>70 mmHg when pH <7.30

Hemoglobin, venous

All

<6.0 g/dL

NA

Carboxyhemoglobin

All

NA

>20.0%

Methemoglobin

All

NA

>10.0%

Turnaround Time

Turnaround times are relative to the time the specimen is received in the test laboratory. 

 

STAT Turnaround Time: 1 hour

Routine Turnaround Time: 4 hours

Testing Schedule: 24/7

Clinical Indications

Acid base disorder 

Test Components

pH, PCO2, PO2, HCO3-, Base Excess, SO2, Hemoglobin, Oxyhemoglobin, Deoxyhemoglobin, Carboxyhemoglobin, Methemoglobin

Methodology

Potentiometry: pH, pCO2

Amperometry: pO2

Derived: HCO3-, base excess

Optical (CO-oximetry): SO2, hemoglobin, oxyhemoglobin, deoxyhemoglobin, carboxyhemoglobin, methemoglobin

CPT Codes

82805

LOINC Codes

2746-6, 2021-4, 2705-2, 39486-6, 40619-9, 19258-3, 14627-4, 1927-3, 2711-0, 718-7

Synonyms/Keyword Search

Blood gas

Additional Information

  • For SO2: Measured oxygen saturation of functional hemoglobin according to the following formula. OxyHb/(OxyHb + DeoxyHb).
  • For OxyHb: Measured oxygen saturation of total hemoglobin according to the following formula. OxyHb/(OxyHb + DeoxyHb + COHb + MetHb).

Last Review Date

4/22/2025