Classic Shunt Equation

Qs/Qt = ( CcO2 - CaO2)/( CcO2 - CvO2)

• CcO2 = End capillary O2 content.
• CaO2 = Arterial O2 content
• CvO2 = Mixed Venous
  • Bottom line is, it's really complicated to solve this equation.
  • You need more formulae to get the values you need for this equation.
  • For CvO2, you have to have a pulmonary artery catheter (Swan-Ganz) in order to draw a mixed venous sample. In many situations, that's kind of impractical.
  • So we don't use this equation much now, (except on tests that show how smart we are.)

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