Need some ABG help please!

[vaneasy]

Ok, so i know how to read them and interpret whether its respiratory/metabolic and acid/alkalosis but in all my notes i seem to have different causes for each :-/ Someone please tell me if this is correct.

Resp Acid= anesthesia, drug OD, COPD, pneumonia, atelectasis,hypoventilation

Resp Alk= Hyperventilation, mechanical ventilation

Met acid= DKA, severe diarrhea, renal failure, shock

met alk= sever vomiting, excessive GI suctioning, diuretics

please tell me if these are correct or wrong and if you have any other common causes throw them out there! I take my NCLEX in a week and am freaking out thanks for any help!

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Welcome to AN! You may find this thread helpful- there are some graphics within the thread as well as links to external help. You can also use the search bar in the upper right to find other helpful posts.

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

How about stopping to memorize and beginning to think?

Resp. ACIDOSIS: ACID made from... yes, carbonic acid, which comes from... right, NOT breathing. Now, when a human being does not breathe, in that sort or another? Pneumonia (nothing to breath with), strangulation (lungs are ok but air does not come), drugs (patient just forgets to breath).... please continue.

Resp. ALKALOSIS - means ... no that carbonic acid... what must happen so that a human being started to breath too much? Pain? Panic attack? Vent set wrong? What else?... please continue.

And so forth, through all four things. It is easy:yes:

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

Each of these four things have causes that can be summarized in very few words:

Resp acidosis: hypoventilation (from any cause)

Resp alkalosis: hyperventilation (from any cause)

Met acidosis: base loss or acid increase (from any cause)

Met alkalosis: base increase or acid loss (from any cause)

Therefore, when you run into a question about any pt condition, ask yourself what the mechanism of the problem causes. For example, aspirin overdose is ingestion of acetylsalicylic ACID. Diabetic ketoACIDosis is excess acid production. COPD is a restrictive airway disease, low ventilation. Vomiting loses stomach acid. AntACID overuse is too much base.

You don't need to memorize a laundry list of possible causes, you just need to remember your physiology to figure out what could be happening. Does that help?