Effect of variations in room temperature on measured values of blood gas quality-control materials

We compared four commercial quality-control materials equilibrated in sealed ampoules at 21 or 26 degrees C in three models of blood gas machines and found po2 differences of about 13.3 Pa (10 mmHg) for an aqueous mixture with hemoglobin; about 6.7 Pa (5 mmHg) for two aqueous buffers without hemoglobin, and none for a fluorocarbon-containing emulsion. Differences for pco2 and pH were small but statistically significant. Variability within machines for pco2, po2, and pH was small but differences among machines were large, especially for po2. These results emphasize that aqueous solutions and hemoglobin-containing mixtures used for proficiency testing and quality control should be equilibrated at the temperature recommended by the manufacturer, opened, and sampled promptly.