Case Study In Acid-Base Balance

Register to read the introduction… Henderson’s PCO2 is elevated. Under normal conditions, what would be the PRIMARY mechanism that his body would use to reduce the amount of PCO2 in the blood? Why is this mechanism not working in this case? Primary mechanism Mr. Henderson should use to reduce the amount of pCO2 in his blood would be to take fast deep breathes. In his case this would prove to be difficult due to the strain from the hemothorax on his respiratory system .

Describe how the high PCO2 and low pH in Mr. Henderson’s blood are related in this case. Mr. Henderson hypoventilation decreased his oxygen to his lungs and that resulted with build up of carbon dioxide.

Describe how the high bicarbonate in Mr. Henderson’s blood is related to the low pH in his urine. The high measure of bicarbonate in Mr. Henderson's blood caused by hypoventilation causing metabolic acidosis and then causing the ph-urine to lower.

What type of intervention might the doctors and nurses initiate in order to address the hemothorax? Explain how this intervention will lead to changes in PCO2 and blood pH.
Best thing would be to stop the source of bleeding and then draining the blood in the thoracic cavity which will allow the lung to expand properly decreasing carbon dioxide and increasing oxygen in the blood to get pH levels back to