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There are four primary acid-base derangements that can occur in the human body - metabolic acidosis, metabolic alkalosis, respiratory acidosis, and respiratory alkalosis. These are characterized by a serum pH below 7.4 (acidosis) or above 7.4 (alkalosis), and whether the cause is from a metabolic process or respiratory process.
Respiratory acidosis is a state in which decreased ventilation (hypoventilation) increases the concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood and decreases the blood's pH (a condition generally called acidosis). Carbon dioxide is produced continuously as the body's cells respire, and this CO 2 will accumulate rapidly if the lungs do not ...
Metabolic acidosis results in a reduced serum pH that is due to metabolic and not respiratory dysfunction. Typically the serum bicarbonate concentration will be <22 mEq/L, below the normal range of 22 to 29 mEq/L, the standard base will be more negative than -2 (base deficit) and the pCO 2 will be reduced as a result of hyperventilation in an ...
The magnitude of this difference (i.e., "gap") in the serum is calculated to identify metabolic acidosis. If the gap is greater than normal, then high anion gap metabolic acidosis is diagnosed. The term "anion gap" usually implies "serum anion gap", but the urine anion gap is also a clinically useful measure. [4] [5] [6] [7]
Hyperventilation due to the compensation for metabolic acidosis persists for 24 to 48 hours after correction of the acidosis, and can lead to respiratory alkalosis. [3] This compensation process can occur within minutes. [4] In metabolic alkalosis, chemoreceptors sense a deranged acid-base balance with a plasma pH of greater than normal (>7.4 ...
When this happens the numerator is large, the denominator is small, and the result is a delta ratio which is high (>2). This means a combined high anion gap metabolic acidosis and a pre-existing either respiratory acidosis or metabolic alkalosis (causing the high bicarbonate) – i.e. a mixed acid–base metabolic acidosis. [citation needed]
Kussmaul breathing is a deep and labored breathing pattern often associated with severe metabolic acidosis, particularly diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) but also kidney failure. It is a form of hyperventilation , which is any breathing pattern that reduces carbon dioxide in the blood due to increased rate or depth of respiration.
Metabolic acidosis is compensated for in the lungs, as increased exhalation of carbon dioxide promptly shifts the buffering equation to reduce metabolic acid. This is a result of stimulation to chemoreceptors, which increases alveolar ventilation, leading to respiratory compensation, otherwise known as Kussmaul breathing (a specific type of ...