The van Slyke equation

Abstract

The Henderson-Hasselbalch equation has always occupied a central place in the description of the acid-base status of the blood. An equation of similar importance is the equation for the CO2 equilibration curve of blood in vitro. It is proposed to name this the Van Slyke equation: a - 24.4 = - (2.3 X b + 7.7) X (c - 7.40) + d/(1 - 0.023 X b), where a = bicarbonate concentration in plasma/(mmol/l), b = hemoglobin concentration in blood/(mmol/l), c = pH of plasma at 37 degrees C, d = base excess concentration in blood/(mmol/l). These two equations provide an arithmetic algorithm for calculation of the various acid-base variables of the blood after measuring the pH, the pCO2, and the hemoglobin concentration.