{"id":139597,"date":"2024-09-17T12:46:04","date_gmt":"2024-09-17T12:46:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learnexams.com\/blog\/?p=139597"},"modified":"2024-09-17T12:46:06","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T12:46:06","slug":"a-nurse-is-reviewing-the-laboratory-results-of-a-client-who-has-dka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/17\/a-nurse-is-reviewing-the-laboratory-results-of-a-client-who-has-dka\/","title":{"rendered":"A nurse is reviewing the laboratory results of a client who has DKA."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A nurse is reviewing the laboratory results of a client who has DKA. The client&#8217;s ABG results are pH 7.30, PaCO\u2082 34 mm Hg and HCO\u2083 21 mEq\/L. The nurse should identify that these values indicate which of the following acid-base imbalances?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A.<br>Respiratory alkalosis<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>B.<br>Metabolic alkalosis<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>C.<br>Metabolic acidosis<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>D.<br>Respiratory acidosis<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-ast-global-color-6-color\">The Correct Answer and Explanation is:<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The correct answer is <strong>C. Metabolic acidosis<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s a detailed explanation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1. Understanding the Components of ABG:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>pH<\/strong> measures the hydrogen ion concentration in the blood, indicating the acidity or alkalinity. A normal pH range is 7.35 to 7.45. A pH below 7.35 suggests acidosis, while a pH above 7.45 indicates alkalosis.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>PaCO\u2082 (Partial Pressure of Carbon Dioxide)<\/strong> reflects the respiratory component of acid-base balance. The normal range is 35 to 45 mm Hg. Elevated PaCO\u2082 indicates respiratory acidosis, while decreased PaCO\u2082 indicates respiratory alkalosis.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>HCO\u2083 (Bicarbonate)<\/strong> represents the metabolic component. The normal range is 22 to 28 mEq\/L. Decreased HCO\u2083 suggests metabolic acidosis, while increased HCO\u2083 indicates metabolic alkalosis.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2. Analyzing the Given Values:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>pH 7.30<\/strong>: This is below the normal range, indicating acidosis.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>PaCO\u2082 34 mm Hg<\/strong>: This is slightly below the normal range of 35 to 45 mm Hg. A lower PaCO\u2082 typically suggests that the respiratory system is compensating for metabolic acidosis by &#8220;blowing off&#8221; CO\u2082 to decrease acidity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>HCO\u2083 21 mEq\/L<\/strong>: This is slightly below the normal range of 22 to 28 mEq\/L. A lower HCO\u2083 indicates a reduction in the buffering capacity of the blood, which is consistent with metabolic acidosis.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3. Determining the Type of Acid-Base Imbalance:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In <strong>metabolic acidosis<\/strong>, the primary defect is a decrease in HCO\u2083. The pH is low due to this decrease, and the PaCO\u2082 might be normal or slightly decreased as a compensatory mechanism.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In <strong>respiratory acidosis<\/strong>, the primary defect is an increase in PaCO\u2082, causing a decrease in pH. However, in this scenario, PaCO\u2082 is not elevated.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In <strong>metabolic alkalosis<\/strong>, the HCO\u2083 is elevated, which would increase the pH, contrary to the findings.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In <strong>respiratory alkalosis<\/strong>, PaCO\u2082 would be decreased significantly, but HCO\u2083 levels would be normal or slightly decreased as a compensatory response.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>4. Conclusion:<\/strong> The combination of a low pH, normal PaCO\u2082, and low HCO\u2083 points towards <strong>metabolic acidosis<\/strong> as the primary diagnosis. This aligns with the clinical scenario of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), which is characterized by a significant decrease in bicarbonate levels due to the accumulation of ketoacids.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A nurse is reviewing the laboratory results of a client who has DKA. The client&#8217;s ABG results are pH 7.30, PaCO\u2082 34 mm Hg and HCO\u2083 21 mEq\/L. The nurse should identify that these values indicate which of the following acid-base imbalances? A.Respiratory alkalosis B.Metabolic alkalosis C.Metabolic acidosis D.Respiratory acidosis The Correct Answer and Explanation [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-139597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exams-certification"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139597\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}