Yes.
The pO2 goes from 43 mm Hg on room air to 452 mm Hg on oxygen (normal is about 100
mm Hg). This suggests that the patient's hypoxemia is not due to a shunt. In emphysema,
areas of the lung are poorly ventilated (VQ mismatch) because the air in them cannot be breathed out
(the airways collapse as soon as the air starts moving out). On 100% oxygen, all the
air in the lung eventually is replaced with oxygen and full oxygenation can occur.
This would not happen if a shunt was present because in that case the shunted blood
is never exposed to oxygen and remains hypoxemic. When it ultimately mixes with the
oxygenated blood coming from the lungs, the final oxygen content of the blood is the
average oxygen content of the shunted and oxygenated blood (which is less than full
oxygenation).
Blood gases:
Room Air 100% oxygen
pO2 43 mm Hg 452 mm Hg
pCO2 22 34
pH 7.51 7.38