A 19-year-old college student is brought to the emergency department by her roommate due to agitation, nausea, and ringing in her ears for the past several hours. The roommate states she found several empty bottles of over-the-counter pain relievers on the patient's desk. The patient is breathing rapidly.
Her temperature is (), blood pressure is mm Hg, pulse is /min, and respirations are /min. Physical examination shows a diaphoretic, anxious young woman. Her lungs are clear to auscultation.
Laboratory studies show:
| Laboratory Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Serum sodium | mEq/L |
| Serum potassium | mEq/L |
| Serum chloride | mEq/L |
| Serum bicarbonate | mEq/L |
| Arterial pH | |
| Arterial PaO | mm Hg |
| Arterial PaCO | mm Hg |
Which of the following best characterizes this patient's current acid-base disturbance?
- Mixed increased anion gap metabolic acidosis and primary respiratory alkalosisCevap
- BPrimary increased anion gap metabolic acidosis with adequate respiratory compensation
- CPrimary respiratory alkalosis with adequate metabolic compensation
- DMixed increased anion gap metabolic acidosis and primary metabolic alkalosis
- EPrimary non-anion gap metabolic acidosis with adequate respiratory compensation
Cevap
Mixed increased anion gap metabolic acidosis and primary respiratory alkalosis
The patient's laboratory results demonstrate an elevated anion gap of mEq/L (), which confirms the presence of a primary increased anion gap metabolic acidosis. By applying Winter's formula (), the expected PaCO for maximal respiratory compensation is mm Hg. The patient's actual PaCO is mm Hg. Because the measured PaCO is lower than the expected compensatory value, there is a concurrent primary respiratory alkalosis. This mixed acid-base disorder is the classic presentation of salicylate (aspirin) toxicity, which both directly stimulates the medullary respiratory center (causing respiratory alkalosis) and uncouples oxidative phosphorylation (causing an accumulation of organic acids and a subsequent metabolic acidosis).
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Anahtar Kavram
Salicylate toxicity typically presents with a mixed increased anion gap metabolic acidosis and primary respiratory alkalosis.