Oxygen Saturation, Arterial, Measured (Blood Gas)

Tube Type

Test ID		LAB5302
EPIC Order		O2 Saturation Arterial
CPT Code(s)		82810
Group/Individual Test		Individual
Laboratory		Core Laboratory
Tube Station		31
Specimen	Routine:	1 mL arterial blood in 3cc syringe w/lyophilized Heparin in BG Kit or SafePICO syringe; See *Comments*
	Micro:	0.5 mL in 1cc syringe with lyophilized heparin in BG kit.
Availability	Routine:	24 hrs/day
	STAT:	Yes
Stability		Room Temperature/Refrigerated: 30 minutes Frozen: NO
Turnaround Time		10 minutes
Reference Range	Normal:	94-100%
	Critical:	<75%
Comments	Blood collection tubes are not acceptable. Syringes with needles attached will NOT be accepted. Deliver Immediately to Blood Gas lab. The time between specimen collection and analysis should not exceed 30 minutes. Blood Gas Syringes may be obtained from Central Distribution. Oxygen saturation is a measure of the fraction of oxygenated hemoglobin in relation to the amount of hemoglobin capable of transporting oxygen. Oxygen saturation can be clinically misleading in the presence of dyshemoglobins such as carboxyhemoglobin and methemoglobin. This is because the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood will be decreased but the oxygen saturation will often remain within reference limits.

Reviewed by J. Carr on December 14, 2023

UNC Hospitals
McLendon Clinical Laboratories
101 Manning Drive
Chapel Hill, NC 27514