A 69-year-old male patient in the ICU displays the following ABG results:
belongs to book: ABG PRACTICE QUESTIONS|Respiratory Therapy Zone|| Chapter number:1| Question number:19
All Answers
total answers (1)
belongs to book: ABG PRACTICE QUESTIONS|Respiratory Therapy Zone|| Chapter number:1| Question number:19
total answers (1)
Medicine
This is your typical ABG interpretation question. Let’s break this one down.
The pH is in the normal range. The PaCO2 is decreased which tells us that the patient is hyperventilating. The Bicarb is decreased.
The pH is on the high end of the normal range, meaning that it is greater than 7.40. This tells us that the primary problem is alkalosis. And since the PaCO2 is severely low, we know that there is a respiratory issue because the patient is hyperventilating.
The Bicarb is also low because the body is compensating for the hyperventilation in order to bring the pH back into the normal range. So now we know that the correct answer has to be C.
The correct answer is: C. Fully compensated respiratory alkalosis.
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