A laboratory printout of arterial blood gases indicates that a patient has an increased Pco₂ , decreased pH, and normal bicarbonate ion concentration. Is this patient in acidosis or alkalosis? Is the pH disturbance respiratory or metabolic in nature? Explain your reasoning. How long do you think the patient has had this pH disturbance? (Hint: Look at the bicarbonate ion concentration. What system controls the concentration of bicarbonate ions, and how quickly does it compensate for pH disturbances?)

Video transcript

Hey, everyone. Let's take a look at this question together. A doctor examines a patient's laboratory test results and determines that the patient has respiratory acidosis. Which of the following best characterizes the patient's test results. Is it answer choice. A elevated ph and partial pressure of carbon dioxide. Answer choice B, reduced ph and elevated partial pressure of carbon dioxide. Answer choice C elevated ph and reduced partial pressure of carbon dioxide or answer choice D both reduced ph and partial pressure of carbon dioxide. Let's work this problem out together to try to figure out which of the following answer choices best explains this patient's test results. So in order to solve this question, we have to recall what we have learned about respiratory acidosis to determine which of the following cancer choices best characterizes this patient's test results with respiratory acidosis. And in the word respiratory acidosis, we know that the acidosis part refers to having a low blood ph. And in the case of respiratory acidosis, we know that there is an accumulation of carbon dioxide in the blood which could be due to inadequate ventilation. Since that inadequate ventilation would mean that the patient is unable to exhale and dispose of that carbon dioxide properly, resulting in that accumulation of carbon dioxide in the blood, which the elevated levels of carbon dioxide in the blood best explains why there is a low ph or acidosis. So, respiratory acidosis results in reduced ph as well as elevated partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the blood. So, looking at our answer choices, we can identify answer choice B as the correct answer Since we have that elevated partial pressure of carbon dioxide, which could be due to inadequate ventilation and those elevated partial pressure of carbon dioxide levels in the blood would also explain that reduced Ph which is respiratory acidosis. So answer choice B is the only correct answer choice. I hope you found this video to be helpful. Thank you and goodbye.