need help with ABG case study....

Resp Opposite: High pH, low CO2.

It's an uncompensated (because pH is not normal and HCO3 is normal) resp alkalosis.

You do not need to account for BE because -3 is normal.

when assessing abgs you look at the ph first to determine acidity or alkalinity. this patient's ph is 7.47. he is in alkalosis. now you look at the respiratory component. that is the co2. it is 33.6. normal is 35 to 45, so this reading is low--below normal. next look at the metabolic component. that is the hco3. it is 24.2. normal is 21-28, so it is within normal parameters. since the only component that is abnormal is the co2 and it is a respiratory component there is nothing more to consider. this is respiratory alkalosis. the be and o2 are not important in basic abg analysis. there are only 3 components that are considered when analyzing abgs: the ph, the co2 and the hco3. the rome mnemonic is used when the ph is abnormal. in this case:

• ph elevated pco2 diminished = respiratory alkalosis
  
  
• ph diminished pco2 elevated = respiratory acidosis
  
  

• ph elevated hco3 elevated = metabolic alkalosis
  
  
• ph diminished hco3 diminished = metabolic acidosis
  
  

when the ph is normal, but the co2 and/or the hco3 are abnormal you have compensation going on. then, you assess when the numbers are going this way:

• ph 7.35-7.40 / co2 >45 / hco3 >28
  
  

• ph 7.41-7.45 / co2

• ph 7.35-7.40 / co2

• ph 7.41-7.45 / co2 >45 / hco3 >28
  
  

please understand that all the above apply to abg results from a person's arterial blood sample. actual physical exam assessments of a patient's respiratory status must also be correlated with the abg results in the clinical area.

there are weblinks to tutorials and practice problems in abg analysis on post #45 of this sticky thread: https://allnurses.com/nursing-student-assistance/pathophysiology-p-microbiology-145201.html - pathophysiology/ a & p/ microbiology/ fluid & electrolyte resources