In the face of uncompensated respiratory acidosis, which of the following blood gas abnormali-ties would you expect to encounter? 1. Decreased pH 2. Increased HCO3– 3. Increased PCO2 4. Increased pH
a. 1, 2, and 4 only
b. 1 and 3 only
c. 3 only
d. 2, 3, and 4 only
ANS: B
If hypercapnia is uncompensated, respiratory acidosis occurs with a low pH, a high PaCO2, and a normal or slightly high [HCO3–]. In this instance, the slightly high [HCO3–] is not a sign that the kidneys have started compensatory activity; it merely reflects the effect of CO2 hydration reac-tion on [HCO3–].
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