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. 2025 May 10;15(1):16314.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-01441-0.

Reference values of arterial blood gas index in adult respiratory failure in high altitude area

Guohui Li #  1 , Yangzong Ram  1 , Hui Chen  2 , Zhenling Xu  1 , Qijian Cheng  3 , Haiqin Zhang #  4
Affiliations

Reference values of arterial blood gas index in adult respiratory failure in high altitude area

Guohui Li et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

The arterial blood gas (ABG) reference values determined at or near sea level may not be applicable in high-altitude areas. This study investigated the reference values of the ABG indexes for adult respiratory failure in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, China. This prospective study enrolled adult patients with respiratory failure at the internal medicine department of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (altitude: 3294 m) in Yunnan province between November 2019 and March 2022. There were 112 cases of type I respiratory failure (median age of 56 years, 61 males) and 91 with type II respiratory failure (median age of 59 years, 42 males). The reference value of PaO2 for type I respiratory failure was 46.9 mmHg (AUC 1.000, 95% CI 1.000-1.000, sensitivity and specificity of 100%, P < 0.001). The reference value of PaCO2 for type II respiratory failure was 38.1 mmHg (AUC 0.871, 95% CI 0.823-0.920, sensitivity and specificity of 95.6% and 60.4%, respectively, P < 0.001). It might be recommended that the reference values of PaO2 and PaCO2 for type I and II respiratory failure be 46.9 and 38.1 mmHg, respectively, in high-altitude areas.

Keywords: Arterial blood gas index; Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture; Prospective observational study; Reference values; Respiratory failure.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The study design was approved by the Ethics Committee of the People’s Hospital of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (Yunnan, China). All participants were informed about the study protocol and provided written informed consent to participate in the study. I confirm that all methods were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines. All procedures were performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves of suspected type I respiratory failure samples (left: no matching, right: after matching).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) of suspected type II respiratory failure samples (left: no matching, right: after matching).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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