Week 8 - Mrs Mitchell Flashcards
Define the general terms tachycardia.
You do not need to include parameters
Tachycardia - increased heart rate
Rapid heartbeat
Faster than normal
Define the general terms tachypnea.
You do not need to include parameters
Tachypnea - increased breathing rate
For a 70Kg man what is the amount of total body water and how is this calculated?
Body weight x 60%
70Kg x 60% = 42L
The concentration of what solute in the blood is important for the increased osmolarity when fluid volume decreases that stimulates the hypothalamus
Sodium
If Mrs Michel had been vomitting rather than having diarrhoea what acid base disturbance would she be most likely to have presented with and why?
Metabolic alkalosis (1 mark)
Vomiting leads to the loss of gastric secretions which are rich is hydrochloric acid. (1 mark)
Whenever a hydrogen ion is excreted a bicarbonate ion is gained. (1 mark) in the extracellular space leading to more bicarbonate in the body and therefore alkalosis. (1 mark)
Briefly explain how metabolic acidosis is compensated for both by the lungs and the kidneys? (2 marks)
Lungs: Lowering the PCO2 by hyperventilation
Kidney: Adds more H+ (or NH+) to the urine
What are some common symptoms of metabolic acidosis?
Headache
Decreased BP
Hyperkalemia (normally with quick onset)
Muscle twitching
Warm, flushed skin
Nausea, Vomiting, Diarrhoea
Changes in LOC (Confusion, drowsiness)
Kussmaul Respirations (compensatory hyperventilation)
What are some causes of Metabolic Acidosis?
Severe Diarrhoea
Renal Failure
Shock
What is metabolic acidosis?
Decrease ability of the kidney to excrete acid or conserve base
What pH should our body stay within?
7.35 and 7.45
Why is it important for the pH of the body to be within 7.35 and 7.45?
So enzymes do not denature
Mrs Mitchel is 72 years old and lives in a sheltered accommodation flat. She is admitted to hospital with a one week history of severe diarrhoea. She is weak, lethargic and clinically dehydrated. At the hospital a physician associate takes her blood pressure which is 100/60 mm Hg when lying down and this drops to 70/40 mm Hg when she is sitting up. Her radial pulse is weak, but there was tachycardia and tachypnea. There was reduced urine output.
List Mrs Mitchell’s presenting symptoms when admitted
72 years old
- 1 week of severe diarrhoea
- weak, lethargic, clinically dehydrated
Mrs Mitchel is 72 years old and lives in a sheltered accommodation flat. She is admitted to hospital with a one week history of severe diarrhoea. She is weak, lethargic and clinically dehydrated. At the hospital a physician associate takes her blood pressure which is 100/60 mm Hg when lying down and this drops to 70/40 mm Hg when she is sitting up. Her radial pulse is weak, but there was tachycardia and tachypnea. There was reduced urine output.
What did the physician’s associate find in the hospital?
BP
110/60mmHg (lying down)
70/40mmHg (sitting)
Tachycardia
Tachypnoea
Reduced urine output
What is the definition of tachycardia?
Increased heart rate >100bpm
What is the definition of tachypnoea?
Increased respiratory rate >20 per min
What is Ringer’s Lactate?
Solution for fluid and electrolyte replacement
Isotonic with blood
Lactate has alkaline effect which can help counteract the acidosis (metabolised into HC03-) in blood serum or in urine
What is Creatinine?
Waste molecule generated from metabolism of creatine in muscle
Filtered by kidneys and disposed in urine
What is the anion gap?
It checks the levels of acid in your blood
Measurement of the difference - or gap - between the negatively charged and positively charged electrolytes
If the anion gap is too high or too low, may be a sign of a disorder in your lungs, kidneys, other organ systems
Summarise the 4 different types of acid-base disturbance
Respiratory acidosis - retain CO2, usually because of hypoventilation (not breathing out enough)
Respiratory alkalosis - blow off too much CO2 hyperventilation (fast breathing)
Metabolic acidosis - retain H+ and excrete HCO3- (e.g. diarrhoea)
Metabolic alkalosis - retain HCO3- and excrete H+ (e.g. vomitting)
What acid base disturbance are you likely to have if you have been vomiting?
Metabolic alkalosis
Lose H+ ions in vomitting from the stomach (think about it stomach acid lost, lose H+ ions)
What acid base disturbance are you likely to have if you have been diarrhoea?
Metabolic acidosis
What acid base disturbance are you likely to have if you have been hyperventilating?
Respiratory alkalosis
Lose too much CO2, CO2 is acidic, so the blood becomes alkaline
What acid base disturbance are you likely to have if you have been hypoventilating?
Respiratory acidosis
Retain CO2 and so blood gets acidic
What do Mrs Mitchell’s blood work show when she first arrives?
pH - 7.11
pC02 - 16 (35-45mmHg)
HCO3- 5 (22-26mEq/L)
Hyperchloremic (High chloride levels - 118 (98-106)
pH is low 7.11
pCO2 is low - 16 (35-45)
compensatory hyperventilation
HCO3- is very low - 5 (22-26)
Hypokalaemia was very low but then was corrected 2.5 to 4.2 (3.5-5.5)
If you see a pH of 7.11 and a pCO2 of 16 (35-45mmHg) what does the patient have?
Acidosis
If pCO2 was high it would be respiratory acidosis
But because it is low you can see that the respiratory system was trying to counteract the low pH through hyperventilation so it is
Metabolic Acidosis
What does Mrs Mitchell’s blood work show after the Ringer’s solution?
pH - 7.49
pC02 - 20 (35-45mmHg)
HCO3- 15 (22-26mEq/L)
pH is 7.49
Alkalosis
pCO2 would be high in acidosis and low in alkalosis, which is in line with the high pH
So Respiratory alkalosis
Her body didn’t compensate yet for the Ringer’s solution
What are the 3 compensatory mechanisms that help handle changes in pH?
- Physiologic buffers - a reversible equation where a weak acid is broken down into a base salt or weak base
Examples:
- Bicarbonate-carbonic acid buffer system
- Intracellular protein buffers
- Phosphate buffers in the bone
- Pulmonary compensation - changes in pCO2 driving pH
- Renal compensation - kidneys excrete or retain HCO3-
What are 3 examples of physiological buffers?
Bicarbonate-carbonic acid buffer system
Intracellular protein buffers
Phosphate buffers in the bone
How does pulmonary compensation work?
So when pH is low, increase ventilation gets rid of acidic CO2 and works to increase pH
When pH is high, there is a decrease in ventilatory effort, which increases pCO2 (retains acidic CO2) and lowers pH back towards normal
How does renal compensation work?
Starts 6 hours after sustained acidosis or alkalosis
In acidosis, kidneys excrete H+ and retains HCO3-
In alkalosis, kidneys excrete HCO3- and retain H+ in the form of organic acids
How long does it take for renal compensation to kick in?
6 hours after sustained acidosis or alkalosis