The Laboratory Has Just Called with the Arterial Blood Gas

question 15

Multiple Choice

The laboratory has just called with the arterial blood gas (ABG) results on four patients.Which result is most important for the nurse to report immediately to the health care provider?

• A) pH 7.34, PaO₂ 82 mm Hg, PaCO₂ 40 mm Hg, and O₂ sat 97%
• B) pH 7.35, PaO₂ 85 mm Hg, PaCO₂ 45 mm Hg, and O₂ sat 95%
• C) pH 7.46, PaO₂ 90 mm Hg, PaCO₂ 32 mm Hg, and O₂ sat 98%
• D) pH 7.31, PaO₂ 91 mm Hg, PaCO₂ 50 mm Hg, and O₂ sat 96%

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Definitions:

Humility

The quality of having a modest or low view of one's importance, often allowing individuals to remain open and teachable.

Hindsight Bias

The tendency to believe, after an event has occurred, that one would have predicted or expected the outcome, often referred to as the "I-knew-it-all-along" effect.

Overconfidence

A cognitive bias where an individual's subjective confidence in their judgments is reliably higher than their objective accuracy, leading to potential errors in decision making.

Hindsight Bias

The predisposition to think, once an event has taken place, that one could have predicted or anticipated its outcome.