Diabetic ketoacidosis is characterized by an increased level of ketone bodies, which causes metabolic acidosis. A patient in diabetic ketoacidosis will have an altered rate of ventilation. Will the patient be hyperventilating or hypoventilating? How will a change in the rate and depth of ventilation compensate for an acidosis that is metabolic in nature?

Video transcript

Hey, everyone. Let's take a look at this question. Together. In diabetic ketoacidosis, the increased level of ketone bodies leads to metabolic acidosis in response to metabolic acidosis. A patient typically experiences hyperventilation. Why does this usually happen? Is it answer choice A to conserve more carbon dioxide. Answer choice B to eliminate excess carbon dioxide. Answer choice C to conserve more oxygen or answer choice D to eliminate excess oxygen. Let's work this problem out together to try to figure out which of the following answer choices best explains why patients with metabolic acidosis typically experience hyperventilation. So in order to solve this question, we have to understand metabolic acidosis and its relationship to hyperventilation, which we can recall that metabolic acidosis results in an accumulation of carbonic acid in the blood, which we know that carbonic acid is formed by the reaction between carbon dioxide and water. Since the increased level of ketone bodies, which leads to metabolic acidosis tells us that there is an increase in the amount of carbon diet oxide in the blood. So that excess carbon dioxide joins with water to form carbonic acid as a result of that metabolic acidosis. And in terms of hyperventilation. We note that hyperventilation is an increase in the rate and the depth of breathing. Which hyperventilation is important in metabolic acidosis as that increase in the rate and depth of breathing allows for the patient to eliminate that excess carbon dioxide that is present due to metabolic acidosis and eliminating that excess carbon dioxide is important. Since eliminating the excess carbon dioxide from the body through hyperventilation, decreases the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the blood which results in a decreased carbon acid concentration. Since we are eliminating that excess carbon dioxide, so it cannot form that carbonic acid with water resulting in that decreased carbonic acid concentration. So, in patients with diabetic ketoacidosis, which leads to metabolic acidosis, patient typically experiences hyperventilation as a way to answer choice. B eliminate excess carbon dioxide. Since hyperventilation helps allow the patient to eliminate excess carbon dioxide, preventing that formation of carbonic acid and counteracting the effects of metabolic acidosis that resulted from diabetic ketoacidosis. So, answer choice B is the only correct answer choice. I hope you found this video to be helpful. Thank you and goodbye.