Acid-Base Physiology

6.7 Respiratory Alkalosis - Assessment

The severity of a respiratory alkalosis is determined by the difference between the actual pCO₂ and the expected pCO₂.

The actual pCO₂ is the measured value from the blood gas results.

If no metabolic acid-base disorder is present, a pCO₂ of 40 mmHg is taken as the reference point (ie the expected pCO₂ ).

If a metabolic disorder is present, respiratory compensation will produce a new reference value of pCO₂ for comparison. The expected pCO₂ can be estimated using the formula in Section 5.5 (for metabolic acidosis) or Section 7.5 (for metabolic alkalosis).

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Acid-Base Physiology

6.7 Respiratory Alkalosis - Assessment

The severity of a respiratory alkalosis is determined by the difference between the actual pCO2 and the expected pCO2.

The severity of a respiratory alkalosis is determined by the difference between the actual pCO₂ and the expected pCO₂.