Acid Base Balance - Pt 2 Flashcards
What do respiratory and renal disorders affect?
Resp. = PCO2
Renal = conc. of HCO3-
Describe respiratory acidosis
pH has fallen and is due to resp. change
PCO2 is increased
Results from reduced ventilation and retention of CO2
What are the acute causes for respiratory acidosis?
Drugs which depress medullary respiratory centres - barbiturates and opiates
Obstructions to major airways
What are the chronic causes for respiratory acidosis?
Lung disease - bronchitis, emphysema and asthma
PCO2 increased so increase secretion of H+ and HCO3-
Need to protect pH so increase HCO3-
Generation of new HCO3- but also increased reabsorption
What do acid conditions stimulate?
Renal glutaminase - more NH3 produced but it takes time
In chronic causes of respiratory acidosis - why does original disturbance not corrected?
Renal compensation for increase HCO3- protects pH but only restoration of ventilation can remove primary disturbance
So BG values are never normalised - kidney maintains high HCO3-
Describe respiratory alkalosis
Alkalosis of resp. origin so must be due to fall in PCO2 and can occur through hyperventilation and CO2 blow off
What are the acute causes of respiratory alkalosis?
Voluntary hyperventilation, aspirin and first ascent to altitude
What are the causes of chronic alkalosis?
Long term residence at altitude so PCO2 below 60mmHg stimulates peripheral chemoreceptors to increase ventilation
Ventilation must be normal to correct disturbance
What are alkaline condition dealt with?
HCO3- reabsorption mechanism
If PCO2 drops then less H+ available for excretion so less filtered HCO3- reabsorbed so HCO3- lost in urine
Describe metabolic acidosis
Metabolic origin - loss of HCO3-
Decreased HCO3- either from increased buffering or direct loss of HCO3-
PCO2 must be decreased
What are the causes of metabolic acidosis?
Increased H+ production - ketoacidosis or lactic acidosis
Failure to excrete dietary load of H+ in renal failure
Loss of HCO3- as in diarrhoea - failure to reabsorb intestinal HCO3-
Describe Kussmaul breathing
Degree of hyperventilation - increase depth of breathing so max 30l/min when pH falls to 7
Sign of renal failure or diabetic ketoacidosis
What is the problem in metabolic acidosis?
Normally kidneys correct disturbance by restoring HCO3- and getting rid of H+ ions
Source of H+ ions is the carbonic acids from CO2 but resp. compensation lowers PCO2 to protect pH
What would complete compensation lead to?
Would remove the drive to correct the original disturbance
Then there is no pressure to correct disturbance - further perturbation may push system too far so compensation may longer not be effective