Respiratory compensation

Question 1

How can you determine if someone has appropriate respiratory compensation for a metabolic acidosis, OR if they have an inappropriate respiratory compensation/concurrent respiratory alkalosis or concurrent respiratory acidosis?

Answer 1

-1e Metabolic acidosis—pH moves in same direction (increase/decrease) as HCO3- and pCO2 (all decrease or all increase)

🡪Once you know if it’s metabolic ACIDOSIS (formula not used for metabolic alkalosis), use Winter’s formula to determine if there is respiratory compensation (resp alkalosis or resp acidosis):

• —If range of Expected pCo2 is ~=actual pCo2, then —there is NO respiratory compensation/distrubance
• —-If actual pCO2 is < or > expected pCo2, then there is respiratory disturbance/compensation