In compensated metabolic acidosis, which combination of analyte changes would you expect?

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Multiple Choice

In compensated metabolic acidosis, which combination of analyte changes would you expect?

In metabolic acidosis, the primary disturbance is a loss of bicarbonate, which lowers pH. The body tries to compensate by hyperventilating, blowing off CO2, so the ECO2 drops. If the acidosis is associated with lactic production, lactate levels rise. To balance the increased H+ in the blood, potassium shifts out of cells, so serum potassium goes up. Putting that together, the expected pattern is decreased ECO2, increased lactate, and increased potassium. The other patterns don’t fit this compensatory response: CO2 would not rise, and potassium would not typically fall in this scenario.

In metabolic acidosis, the primary disturbance is a loss of bicarbonate, which lowers pH. The body tries to compensate by hyperventilating, blowing off CO2, so the ECO2 drops. If the acidosis is associated with lactic production, lactate levels rise. To balance the increased H+ in the blood, potassium shifts out of cells, so serum potassium goes up. Putting that together, the expected pattern is decreased ECO2, increased lactate, and increased potassium. The other patterns don’t fit this compensatory response: CO2 would not rise, and potassium would not typically fall in this scenario.

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