STATPAL(R) II PH AND BLOOD-GAS ANALYSIS SYSTEM EVALUATED

We evaluated a new portable instrument, the PPG Stat-Pal(R) II pH and Blood Gas Analysis System, designed for ''point-of-care'' measurements of blood gases and pH. Inaccuracy (% of target value) and imprecision (CV%) were assessed by blood tonometry and comparison with a Corning 178. Within-day results for PCO2 inaccuracy and imprecision ranged fro m 98.2% to 102.9% and 3.3% to 3.9%, respectively; for PO2, these were 95.5% to 102.3% and 2.3% to 3.0%, respectively. Between-day results fo r PCO2 inaccuracy and imprecision ranged from 99.2% to 99.3% and from 2.9% to 3.2%, respectively; for PO2, the ranges were 96.2% to 98.2% an d 2.6% to 3.0%, respectively. Two PCO2 outliers (in 645 samples = 0.3% ) were observed. In general, tonometry recovery, measurement stability , and pH bias results for the StatPal II and Corning 178 were comparab le. We conclude that the StatPal II performs within acceptable ranges of inaccuracy and imprecision.