
What does base excess mean on a blood gas?
They defined base excess as the amount of strong acid (in mmol/L) that needs to be added in vitro to 1 liter of fully oxygenated blood in order to return the sample to standard (normal) conditions (pH 7.40, p CO 2 40 mmHg and temperature 37 °C.)
What does base excess indicate?
“The base excess is another surrogate marker of metabolic acidosis or alkalosis.. A high base excess (> +2mmol/L) indicates that there is a higher than normal amount of HCO 3- in the blood, which may be due to a primary metabolic alkalosis or a compensated respiratory acidosis. A low base excess (< -2mmol/L) indicates that there is a lower than normal amount of HCO 3-in the blood, suggesting ...
What is base excess blood test?
Base Excess. The base excess (BE) is a way to quantify the presence of strong acid (metabolic acidosis) or strong base (metabolic alkalosis), either (1) in the whole blood, called blood base excess, BE(B), or actual base excess, ABE, or (2) in the extracellular fluid, called extracellular BE (BEecf) or standard BE (SBE).
What is the normal range of HCO3?
Regarding this, what is the normal range for hco3? Normal Values Arterial blood pH of 7.38 - 7.42. Oxygen saturation (SaO2) - 94 - 100% Bicarbonate - (HCO3) - 22 - 28 mEq/L. Also Know, how do you know if its metabolic or respiratory acidosis?

What is a high base excess?
A high base excess (> +2mmol/L) indicates that there is a higher than normal amount of HCO3– in the blood, which may be due to a primary metabolic alkalosis or a compensated respiratory acidosis.
What is base excess in blood test?
The base excess It is defined as the amount of acid required to restore a litre of blood to its normal pH at a PaCO2 of 40 mmHg. The base excess increases in metabolic alkalosis and decreases (or becomes more negative) in metabolic acidosis, but its utility in interpreting blood gas results is controversial.
How is base excess measured?
Accordingly, measurement of base excess is defined, under a standardized pressure of carbon dioxide, by titrating back to a standardized blood pH of 7.40. The predominant base contributing to base excess is bicarbonate.
What is a high blood gas number?
35 to 45 mmHg (a high PaCO2 may indicate hypercapnia). The PaCO2 level represents the level of alveolar ventilation. A high PaCO2 indicates alveolar hypoventilation, whereas a reduced PaCO2 indicates alveolar hyperventilation. Acute fluctuations in PaCO2 will cause pH to shift.
What is the most common cause of metabolic alkalosis?
The most common causes of metabolic alkalosis are the use of diuretics and the external loss of gastric secretions.
What does base deficit indicate?
A base deficit indicates an excess of acid. It refers to the amount of base needed to titrate a serum pH back to normal (healthy human-arterial blood pH varies between 7.35 and 7.45) when the contribution of respiratory factors is taken out of the equation. Base deficit is usually reported as a negative base excess.
What causes alkalosis in the blood?
Alkalosis is excessive blood alkalinity caused by an overabundance of bicarbonate in the blood or a loss of acid from the blood (metabolic alkalosis), or by a low level of carbon dioxide in the blood that results from rapid or deep breathing (respiratory alkalosis).
What is a normal base deficit?
Base excess/deficit of +/- 2 mEq/L is normal. Severe metabolic acidosis is associated with a base deficit of -10 mEq/L. A positive number is called a base excess and indicates a metabolic alkalosis. A negative number is called a base deficit and indicates a metabolic acidosis.
What is base excess?
The base excess is the amount of strong acid that is required to return a patient's sample to a pH of 7.4, pCO₂ to 40mmHg and temperature to 37°.
What does a base excess less than -2 mean?
A base excess less than -2 suggests the presence of metabolic acidosis.
What is the difference between actual base excess and standard base excess?
A further distinction can be made between actual and standard base excess: actual base excess is that present in the blood, while standard base excess is the value when the hemoglobin is at 5 g/dl. The latter gives a better view of the base excess of the entire extracellular fluid.
What is base excess?
Base excess is defined as the amount of strong acid that must be added to each liter of fully oxygenated blood to return the pH to 7.40 at a temperature of 37°C and a pCO 2 of 40 mmHg (5.3 kPa). A base deficit (i.e., a negative base excess) can be correspondingly defined in terms of the amount of strong base that must be added.
What is the predominant base contributing to base excess?
The predominant base contributing to base excess is bicarbonate. Thus, a deviation of serum bicarbonate from the reference range is ordinarily mirrored by a deviation in base excess. However, base excess is a more comprehensive measurement, encompassing all metabolic contributions.
When was base excess first introduced?
The term and concept of base excess were first introduced by Poul Astrup and Ole Siggaard-Andersen in 1958.
What is the difference between base excess and carbon dioxide?
While carbon dioxide defines the respiratory component of acid-base balance, base excess defines the metabolic component. Accordingly, measurement of base excess is defined, under a standardized pressure of carbon dioxide, by titrating back to a standardized blood pH of 7.40. The predominant base contributing to base excess is bicarbonate.
What does it mean to detect an acid-base imbalance in the blood?
to detect an acid-base imbalance in the blood, which may indicate a respiratory, metabolic, or kidney disorder
What does pH mean in blood?
pH:#N#The pH tells you if your patient is acidotic or alkalotic. It is a measurement of the acid content or hydrogen ions [H+] in the blood. Low pH indicates a higher concentration of hydrogen ions (acidosis) while a high pH indicates a lower concentration of hydrogen ions (alkalosis).
What is standard base excess?
standard base excess is dose of acid or alkali to return the ECF to normal pH (7.40) under standard conditions ( at 37C at a PCO2 of 40 mm Hg)
What is base excess?
Base Excess. introduced in 1958. base excess is dose of acid or alkali to return in vitro blood to normal pH (7.40) under standard conditions ( at 37C at a PCO2 of 40 mm Hg) Normal Base excess is between -3 and +3mEq/L. Standard Base Excess.
What is base excess?
Base excess is defined as the negative value of the concentration ( c) of titratable (t) hydrogen ion in blood (B); thus BE = – c tH +B. It may be determined directly experimentally.
What is the pH of a blood sample in vitro?
NaOH when titrating an acidotic blood sample to the reference pH = 7.40, at p CO 2 = 40 mmHg, at T = 37 °C without changing the actual s O 2 (%). When BE refers to fully in vitro oxygenated blood it should be specified as BE ox.
What is the APGAR score after birth?
APGAR scores after 1, 5 and 10 minutes refer to the fetal reaction pattern mirroring the whole birth process including hypoxia and acidosis, using five variables of neonatal vigor. No fetus delivered with general anesthesia was included in this study.
Why is it important to assess acid-base status of neonates?
Assessment of the acid-base status of the neonate immediately after birth is important because it provides us with information about the consequences of any decrease in oxygen delivery to the fetus.
Why is C tH +B used instead of BE B?
Recently Siggaard-Andersen proposed [5] to use the term c tH +B rather than BE B because the relevant chemical component is the hydrogen ion, not hydrogen-ion-binding groups (base) nor hydroxyl ions ( c OH – ).
What is the normal pH level for bicarbonate?
Bicarbonate levels less than 23 or more than 30 are considered to be abnormal. Normal pH level of blood: 7.35 – 7.45. Normal CO2 levels: 35 – 45 mm of Hg.
How to measure bicarbonate levels?
Bicarbonates are usually measured through blood gas examination. If any imbalance is noticed, it is important to correct them immediately as quite often. Those imbalances indicate a serious health condition. Adequate hydration and a healthy diet help in maintaining normal bicarbonate levels in the blood.
Can acid-base imbalance be found on blood gas?
Often , there are no symptoms and acid-base imbalance is only found on blood gas analysis. ‘ Base Excess ’ or ‘ Base Deficit ’ can also be calculated from the difference between patient’s bicarbonate levels and the normal levels. Bicarbonate levels less than 23 or more than 30 are considered to be abnormal.

Overview
Interpretation
Base excess beyond the reference range indicates
• metabolic alkalosis if too high (more than +2 mEq/L)
• metabolic acidosis if too low (less than −2 mEq/L)
Blood pH is determined by both a metabolic component, measured by base excess, and a respir…
Definition
Base excess is defined as the amount of strong acid that must be added to each liter of fully oxygenated blood to return the pH to 7.40 at a temperature of 37°C and a pCO2 of 40 mmHg (5.3 kPa). A base deficit (i.e., a negative base excess) can be correspondingly defined in terms of the amount of strong base that must be added.
A further distinction can be made between actual and standard base excess: actual base exces…
Estimation
Base excess can be estimated from the bicarbonate concentration ([HCO3 ]) and pH by the equation:
with units of mEq/L. The same can be alternatively expressed as
Calculations are based on the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation:
Ultimately the end result is:
See
• Acid–base homeostasis
• Metabolic acidosis / Metabolic alkalosis
• Arterial blood gas
External links
• acid-base.com
• Anthology on Base Excess (O.Siggaard-Andersen)
• Emedicine: Lactic Acidosis