Interpret the patient’s ABG: pH 6.91, PO2 86, PCO2 19, HCO3 13. What is the acid-base disorder?

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Multiple Choice

Interpret the patient’s ABG: pH 6.91, PO2 86, PCO2 19, HCO3 13. What is the acid-base disorder?

Explanation:
The key idea is to identify the primary acid-base disturbance by looking at pH, bicarbonate, and CO2, then see if the secondary change is compensatory. Here the pH is severely low (acidemia), indicating an acid-base disorder. The bicarbonate is decreased (13 mEq/L), which points to a metabolic acidosis as the primary problem. The CO2 is also low (19 mmHg), showing that the respiratory system is trying to compensate by hyperventilating to blow off CO2 and raise the pH. Since the pH remains acidemic despite this compensatory effort, the compensation is incomplete—that is, partial rather than full. Therefore, the pattern fits metabolic acidosis with partial respiratory compensation.

The key idea is to identify the primary acid-base disturbance by looking at pH, bicarbonate, and CO2, then see if the secondary change is compensatory. Here the pH is severely low (acidemia), indicating an acid-base disorder. The bicarbonate is decreased (13 mEq/L), which points to a metabolic acidosis as the primary problem. The CO2 is also low (19 mmHg), showing that the respiratory system is trying to compensate by hyperventilating to blow off CO2 and raise the pH. Since the pH remains acidemic despite this compensatory effort, the compensation is incomplete—that is, partial rather than full. Therefore, the pattern fits metabolic acidosis with partial respiratory compensation.

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