Serum bicarbonate may replace the arterial base deficit in the trauma intensive care unit

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2005.08.024 Byline: Elizabeth FitzSullivan, Ali Salim, Demetrios Demetriades, Juan Asensio, Matthew J. Martin Keywords: Trauma; Metabolic acidosis; Base deficit; Bicarbonate; Critical illness Abstract: Arterial base deficit (BD) is a commonly used marker of injury severity and endpoint of resuscitation but requires an arterial puncture and blood gas analysis. Serum bicarbonate (HCO.sub.3) is routinely obtained as part of the chemistry panel on most admissions. We hypothesized that serum HCO.sub.3 strongly correlates with arterial BD and provides equivalent predictive information. Author Affiliation: Division of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California and the Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center, 1200 North State Street, Room 10-750, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA Article History: Received 8 April 2005; Revised 8 August 2005