An old lady with sepsis and an acid-base disturbance
Last update: Monday, 02 Dec 2019 at 17:43
A 69 year-old woman was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with sepsis secondary to a urinary tract infection. She had a pulse oximetry of 92% while breathing room air and her respiratory rate was 23 bpm.
An arterial blood gas analysis was collected and the results are shown below:
Source: www.xlung.net
1) What acid-base disturbance is present?
a) Pure metabolic acidosis
b) Respiratory alkalosis and metabolic acidosis
2) What is the explanation for a relatively low SaO2 considering the PaO2 is very close to the normal range for her age?
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