Podcast 684: Acidosis

<p><strong>Contributor:  Nick Tsipis, MD</strong></p> <p><strong>Educational Pearls:</strong></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">pH <7.35 = acidemia; pH>7.45=alkalemia</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">If pH low and pCO2 high, indicates a respiratory acidosis</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">If pH low and pCO2 low, indicates metabolic acidosis</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">After determining type of acidosis, check bicarb to determine compensation for acidosis and check electrolytes to calculate anion gap</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Metabolic acidosis can present with tachypnea (Kussmaul breathing) and hypotension due to loss of catecholamine function and suboptimal cardiac function at low pH</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Treat with IV fluids and address the underlying cause, limited role for bicarb</span></li> </ul> <p><strong>References</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Burger MK, Schaller DJ. Metabolic Acidosis. [Updated 2020 Nov 20]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2021 Jan.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cadogan M. Acid Base Disorders. Life in the Fast Lane • LITFL. https://litfl.com/acid-base-disorders/. Published November 3, 2020. Accessed June 23, 2021.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Summarized by John Spartz, MS4 | Edited by Erik Verzemnieks, MD</span></em></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Emergency Medical Minute is excited to announce that we are now offering</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">AMA PRA Category 1 credits™</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">via online course modules. To access these and for more information, visit our website