TABLE 1.
Mean (or mixed) alveolar to arterial gradients for oxygen (A̅aPO2) and arterial to mean alveolar gradients for CO2 (aA̅PCO2) in mmHg, intrapulmonary shunt (as % of total pulmonary blood flow) and alveolar dead space (as % of total alveolar ventilation) for different combinations of shunt and alveolar dead space
A̅aPO2 mmHg | aA̅PCO2 mmHg | Shunt % total blood flow | Dead space % total ventilation | ||
A | Shunt only | 48 | 2.3 | 30 | 0 |
B | Dead space only | 13 | 9.2 | 0 | 30 |
C | Mixed: shunt = dead space | 63 | 11.3 | 30 | 30 |
D | Mixed: shunt >> dead space | 63 | 7.5 | 44 | 10 |
E | Mixed: dead space >> shunt | 26 | 7.5 | 5 | 23 |
Calculated from figure 3b in Wagner et al. [3].