Arterial Blood Gases (Abg's) Study Guide Graded A+

What is partial pressure? {Ans: Pressure exerted by a single gas.}What are the renal compensations for respiratory acidosis? {Ans: excretion of H+ ions, and production and retention of HCO3}What are the characteristic values for metabolic alkalosis? {Ans: high pH; high PHCO3}What is the cause of respiratory alkalosis and what is this secondary to? {Ans: CAUSE = HYPERVENTILATION secondary to pain anxiety/fear fever/sepsis CNS lesions}How is additional expiration from the lungs initiated? What is the timeframe involved? {Ans: Through chemoreceptors in the brain. It occurs within 1-3 minutes of detected imbalance, and lasts 12-24 hours.}What type of compensation is indicated if the pH is WNL and PCO2 and PHCO3 are out of range? {Ans: Fully compensated compensation (note : need to determine whether pH is closer to acidosis or alkalosis to determine respiratory vs. metabolic)}