Respiratory Acidosis Flashcards
Respiratory acidosis develops when the respiratory system
Cannot eliminate all the carbon dioxide generated by Peripheral tissues.
The primary sign of respiratory acidosis
Low blood pH due to hypercapnia, an increase in blood PCO2.
The usual cause of respiratory acidosis and hypercapnia is
Hypoventilation, an abnormally low respiratory rate.
What happens when the PCO2 in the ECF rises
H and HCO3 concentrations also begin rising as H2CO3 forms and associates.
Other buffer systems can tie up some of the hydrogen, but once the combined buffer capacity has been exceeded, the pH begins to fall rapidly
Respiratory acidosis is the most common challenge to acid-base equilibrium. What happens if the chemoreceptors that monitor the PCO2 of blood and cerebrospinal fluid do not respond
If the pH decline is severe acute respiratory acidosis developed
What is the major goal of the resuscitate of cardiac arrest or drowning victim
Reversal of acute respiratory acidosis
Chronic respiratory acidosis develops when
Normal respiratory function has been compromised, but the compensatory mechanisms have not failed completely.
Example of chronic respiratory acidosis
Normal respiratory compensation may not occur in response to chemoreceptor stimulation in persons with central nervous system injuries and those who respiratory centers have been desensitized by drugs such as alcohol or barbiturates.
As a result, these people are prone to developing acidosis due to chronic hypoventilation.
Conditions fostering chronic respiratory acidosis include
Emphysema,
congestive heart failure or pneumonia
pneumothorax
respiratory muscle paralysis
How do the kidneys respond when a normal pulmonary response does not take place
By increasing the rate of hydrogen secretion into tubular fluid.
This slows the rate of pH change.
The primary problem in respiratory acidosis is that
The rate of pulmonary exchange is inadequate to keep the arterial PCO2 within normal limits.
Treatment of acute respiratory acidosis is complicated by the fact that it causes
A complementary metabolic acidosis as oxygen starved tissues generate lactic acid
