2018 Volume 67 Issue 1 Pages 23-28
In Japan, almost all laboratories carry out HCO3− analysis based on the results obtained using blood gas system (BGS). However, at Chukyo Hospital Clinical Laboratory, HCO3− has been measured as total CO2 using chemical analyzers for over twenty years. In this paper, we report our recent one-year findings on the differences between HCO3− measured on the basis of BGS results and HCO3− measured on the basis of total CO2 using a chemical analyzer, and the technical factors influencing the total CO2 measurement. In conclusion, there was a high correlation between the two methods (y = 0.977x + 0.397, r = 0.987). Moreover, the HCO3− concentration measured as total CO2 might be influenced by the blood collection volume and the time after collection tube opening.
